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U.S. Senate approves bill that could ban TikTok

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved legislation requiring the wildly popular social media app TikTok to be divested from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be shut out of the American market.

Agencies and A News AMERICAS
Published April 24,2024
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This photograph taken on April 19, 2024 shows a man holding a smartphone displaying the logo of Chinese social media platform Tiktok in an office in Paris. (AFP File Photo)

The U.S. Senate on late Tuesday passed a bill that could lead to a ban on TikTok unless its Chinese owner sells the video-sharing social media platform.

U.S.-based CBS News reported that the bill gives ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owner, nine months to sell its stake, with the potential for an additional three-month grace period, or the app will be banned in the U.S.

It came as part of a broader legislative package that comprises $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

The House of Representatives already approved the measure on April 20. President Joe Biden also said that he will sign the bill on Wednesday.

The bill was passed amid suspicions that ByteDance could share data about U.S. users with the Chinese government.