The measure sailed through the House as part of a foreign aid package.
A potential ban of TikTok in the United States sailed through the House of Representatives over the weekend as part of a $95 billion foreign aid package that garnered bipartisan support.
The social media crackdown may stand poised to become law, since President Joe Biden has vowed to sign it if it passes the Senate and reaches his desk.
The TikTok measure could still be removed from the foreign aid legislation in the Senate, but that would require the entire package to be sent back to the House for another vote — at the same time that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have stressed urgency for acting on the additional money for Ukraine and Israel.
If enacted, the measure would force a sale of the popular social media app by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. In the absence of a sale, the app would be banned.
TikTok did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. In a previous statement, TikTok slammed the renewed efforts behind divestment.
«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, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually,» the platform said.
Here’s what to know about whether the ban would ever take effect, what it means for users and how people may seek to bypass it:
Even if the measure becomes law, TikTok may still avoid a ban.
ByteDance could opt to sell TikTok, ensuring the continued availability of the app for U.
