(Central News Agency, Washington, 23rd Comprehensive Foreign News Report) The U.S. Senate passed a bill today, giving ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular short video platform TikTok, about nine months to sell its assets in the United States, otherwise TikTok will face Banned across the United States.
After the House and Senate voted to pass it, President Biden said he would sign the bill into law tomorrow. The following is a breakdown by Reuters of what TikTok may face next.
The countdown to the 270-day period begins
Once Biden signs the bill, the countdown to the 270-day period will begin, during which ByteDance must sell TikTok. If ByteDance appears to be close to completing the divestment by the end of the nine-month period, the president will be able to authorize an additional 90 days for the relevant agreement to be finalized.
If the bill is signed into law this week as expected, the 270-day period will expire around the inauguration day of the next US president on January 20 next year. At that time, the decision to grant an additional three-month grace period will rest with the current President Biden. Or in the hands of former President Trump. If nothing unexpected happens, Democratic Biden will face off against Republican Trump in the presidential election in November this year.
TikTok may be in litigation
Once the bill is signed into law, TikTok is expected to file a lawsuit to block the bill, and TikTok’s legal team should also apply to the court for a temporary injunction.
TikTok hopes to prevent the implementation of the new law through an injunction, allowing TikTok to continue its comprehensive challenge to the constitutionality of the law; the relevant court proceedings are unlikely to be completed before the end of the year.
If TikTok successfully obtains a temporary injunction from the court, the forced sale process will be suspended, potentially giving TikTok more time to operate freely in the United States.
In August 2020, then-President Trump sought to block TikTok and WeChat, a subsidiary of China’s Tencent Company, but was blocked by the court. In June 2021, Biden revoked a series of Trump-era executive orders seeking to ban the downloading of WeChat and TikTok.
Will there be changes to the TikTok app?
There should be no changes to the TikTok app’s 170 million users in the United States between now and the end of the divestment in the first four months of next year.
What are the possible follow-up measures of the Chinese government?
China has technology export controls, and experts point out that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm should be included in them, which means that Beijing has the final say on whether ByteDance can sell or license TikTok’s most valuable features. (Translator: Li Peishan/Verification: Lu Yingzi) 1130424
