The US is close to banning TikTok.

A bipartisan vote in the US House of Representatives, with a result of 360-58, passed a bill very similar to an earlier version approved in March that would ban TikTok from US app stores unless it quickly finds a new owner to replace its parent company, ByteDance in China.

TikTok could face a ban in the US if it doesn't divest from its parent company, ByteDance, in China. (Photo: CNN)

By linking the TikTok bill to a broader package of bills that includes military aid to Ukraine and Israel, House Republicans want to pressure Senate lawmakers to consider the entire package with just one vote for or against.

Policy analysts expect the US Senate to quickly accept and pass this bill. And President Joe Biden has previously stated that he would sign legislation banning TikTok if it reached his desk.

The push to ban TikTok shows that US lawmakers are genuinely concerned about the Chinese short -video app, which is popular among many young Americans but is considered a national security risk by US officials.

The version of the bill approved on Saturday, if signed, would give TikTok 270 days to find a new owner, an increase from about six months in the previous version of the law. The bill also allows the White House to extend that deadline by another 90 days.

TikTok has spoken out against the bill. For weeks, TikTok has been lobbying against it, arguing that it violates First Amendment rights and threatens small businesses, as well as “trampling on the free speech of 170 million Americans, destroying 7 million businesses and shutting down a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy annually.”

TikTok has hinted that it may sue to block the bill and informed users in March that it plans to continue the fight.

Paul Gallant, a policy analyst at market research firm Cowen, said the likelihood of the bill forcing TikTok to divest being passed is quite high. Gallant estimates the probability of it passing in the US Senate at 80%. "We believe TikTok is unlikely to be excluded from the broader package of bills," he said.

Hoang Hai (according to CNN, Reuters, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/my-den-gan-lenh-cam-tiktok-post292589.html