​US Congress moves closer to banning TikTok in the United States

US Congress has moved a “step closer” to banning TikTok in the United States, which could come into play in just nine months.

On Tuesday, April 23, US Congress voted to pass a bill that would ban the platform across the nation if Chinese company ByteDance refuses to sell the popular platform.

The landmark bill was agreed upon by the Senate and is due to be signed by US President Joe Biden today (April 24), who has previously indicated his backing of the bill.

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The bill was passed by 79 votes to 18 and took place just three days after it was cleared from the House of Representatives.

US Congress first made moves to ban the app in March over fears on both sides of the political spectrum that it could be a “national security threat” and an espionage tool.

According to Sky News, US politicians and officials have shared their concerns that Chinese authorities could ask ByteDance to pass on US user data. TikTok has since said that it would not share this information if asked.

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If the bill is passed, ByteDance must sell the platform within nine months or face a total ban across the country, which will see its removal from both the App Store and Google Play Store in the US.

Sky News reported that ByteDance would likely begin a legal battle against the bill in an argument that it would deprive all 170 million US users of their First Amendment rights, which protects freedom of speech.

The bill could also face challenges from content creators on the app. The app currently hosts more than a million content creators worldwide and stands as the sixth-largest social media site.

[Via Sky News]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter