UPDATE: On Wednesday, President Joe Biden Signed the bill If ByteDance fails to remove the app within a year, it will ban TikTok in the US.

Original story:

United States TikTok The ban has just passed the Senate, meaning it is just one presidential signature away from becoming law. To consider President Joe Biden has previously said he would sign the bill.it now seems virtually guaranteed that the TikTok ban will actually go ahead.

79 US senators approved the TikTok ban, eclipsed by 18 senators who voted against it. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday.Bundled with aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. This was the second time in as many months that the Tik Tok ban was approved by the House. previous Bill Stopped in the Senate.

The tweet may have been deleted.

In addition to being bundled with foreign aid, the new bill makes some changes to the timeline for implementing the ban. Instead of selling TikTok within six months, Chinese parent company ByteDance will have nine months to divest. The president can also add a 90-day extension to the deadline and extend it to a year.

If ByteDance doesn't sell the video-sharing platform by then—and especially to a company that the U.S. government doesn't believe is controlled by a “foreign adversary”—TikTok will be fully owned by the U.S. will be forced out. That is, no more. Dance Challengesno more “get ready with me” Story timesand no more. Industrial grade glycine from Donghua Jinlong.

TikTok to challenge US ban in court

It's unlikely that TikTok will go down without a fight. Responding to the earlier bill last month, the CEO Shu Zi Chiu indicated that the company may take legal action to defend itself against the ban. TikTok previously overturned Montana's ban in December. A judge declared it unconstitutional on the grounds that it restricted free speech and imposed extrajudicial punishment on the company.

“We will continue to do everything possible, including exercising our legal rights, to protect the amazing platform we built with you.” Chiu said last month.

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TikTok's intention to take the matter to court was further confirmed this week in an internal memo from Michael Beckerman, the company's head of public policy in the US. Information reported. Beckerman issued the memo after the House of Representatives approved the ban on Saturday.

“At the point when the bill is signed, we will go to the courts for a legal challenge,” Beckerman wrote. “We will continue to fight, because this legislation is a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of the 170 million Americans on TikTok.”

Mashable has reached out to TikTok for comment.

TikTok has 170 million US usersa number that Even President Biden is involved.And About 7,000 people were employed in the US as of March last year.. However, they are not the only ones whose livelihoods could be affected by the US TikTok ban. This has been revealed in a study initiated by TikTok. The app supports 224,000 jobs in 2023, and contributes $24.2 billion to US GDP..

The US TikTok ban may have further ramifications for free expression.

US politicians have tried to justify the TikTok ban by claiming it is a security concern, blaming the Chinese government for spying on users and manipulating the algorithm to display content sympathetic to China. Accuse. However, there is no evidence of this happening.the fear of this hypothesis has fueled much of the push to ban TikTok.

Some senators have even blamed TikTok for this. Increased support for Palestine Among the youthThis cause has been promoted by China with the intention of creating division in the US.

“Let's See Where Young People Are Getting Their News” Senator Pat Ricketts saidCriticism of pro-Palestinian sentiments. “The Chinese Communist Party is doing this on purpose. They are pushing this racist agenda with the intention of undermining our democratic values. And if you look at what's happening right now at Columbia University and other campuses across the country. It's been, they're winning.”

Students from Columbia University, Yale, New York University, and others are performing. Massive protests in support of PalestineCall for a permanent cease-fire, an end to military aid to Israel, and for those entities to divest from companies profiting from the Gaza conflict.

People across the political spectrum on social media are less than thrilled with the news of the TikTok ban. Many have criticized it as an attack on free speech, which lawmakers have clearly stated is aimed at preventing the spread of content that is sympathetic to China or Palestine. Some have also expressed concern that banning Tik Tok could set a dangerous precedent that could lead to bans on other social media platforms as well.

The tweet may have been deleted.

The tweet may have been deleted.

The tweet may have been deleted.

The TikTok ban will now be sent to President Biden to sign into law. If you have any favorite videos that you love to watch again, now would be the time to download them.