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The United States House of Representatives has passed another bill to ban TikTok in the country. The new bill has a similar core structure to the original bill passed last month. However, it is part of a larger group of foreign aid bills, making it harder for the Senate to hinder its progress. The previous bill has yet to pass the upper house.
Another TikTok ban bill passes the US House
TikTok is facing a nationwide ban in the US over security concerns. Last month, the House voted 352-65 to pass a bill that could ban the popular video-based social media app across the country. If signed into law, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance would get six months to either divest the US arm of the platform or exit the nation.
However, the bill has made little progress in the Senate. Lawmakers in the upper house have expressed mixed concerns about the proposed ban on TikTok. As noted by The Verge, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has remained mysterious about it. This is despite President Joe Biden suggesting he is ready to sign the legislation.
Meanwhile, the House prepared another bill with similar terms—ByteDance has to either sell the US arm of TikTok or face a nationwide ban. The only notable difference is that the Chinese firm will have a year to decide, double what is offered by the original bill. The initial divestment period will be nine months. If the firm makes progress, Biden can extend it by three more months.
The new bill passed the House by a margin of 360 to 58. Interestingly, Cantwell liked the new terms. A few others who voted against the standalone bill last month have also shown support for the new one. They believe six months is too little for a global company to finalize a complex divesture process. A year might be enough for ByteDance to decide.
The Senate may soon vote on the updated bill
The latest bill to ban TikTok in the US is packaged with foreign aid bills “that seek to provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza.” Since these funds are to be finalized with urgency, the Senate has to move the bills swiftly. This also means that the TikTok bill won’t be stalled in the upper house for long. The Senate doesn’t necessarily have to approve it alongside other bills in the package, though.
However, if they do, President Biden might not take long to pass the bill into law. TikTok, meanwhile, isn’t happy about the House cleverly bundling the bill with foreign aid bills. “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans,” the firm said in a statement.
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