Forced to sell

US ban on video portal TikTok passed

(Bild: salarko - stock.adobe.com)

TikTok has been forced to break away from its Chinese parent company ByteDance in the US. Late on Tuesday (local time), the US Senate voted in favor of an ultimatum requiring the popular short video app to sell its US assets within nine months or be banned. It is unclear whether the plan will stand up in US courts. An earlier ban threat already failed there.

"For years, we have allowed the Chinese Communist Party to control one of America's most popular apps, and that was dangerously short-sighted," said Senator Marco Rubio. "A new law will force the Chinese owner to sell the app. That's good for America," said the leading Republican on the Intelligence Committee.

Legal action already announced
TikTok did not initially respond to a Reuters request for comment, but had already announced legal action against the law over the weekend.

For years, we have allowed the Chinese Communist Party to control one of America's most popular apps, and that was dangerously short-sighted.

Senator Marco Rubio

TikTok has denied allegations for years
The bill was passed by the Senate on Wednesday night by a large majority of 79 votes to 18. Bytedance is seen across party lines in the US as a Chinese company that must bend to the will of the Chinese Communist Party. There are therefore warnings that Chinese authorities could gain large-scale access to American users' data - and also use the platform to exert political influence. TikTok has denied this for years.

New aid for Ukraine 
The law, which was passed for the second time in the House of Representatives a few days ago, is this time part of a package that, among other things, is intended to provide new aid for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. This is why it was quickly passed by the Senate at the second attempt.

The law puts Biden's Democrats in a dilemma: on the one hand, the president wants to take a tough stance on China and, on the other, the app is popular with young users, whose votes he needs to win re-election in November. Biden's campaign team only opened a TikTok account itself this year.

The company is based in the Caribbean
TikTok emphasizes that it does not see itself as a subsidiary of a Chinese company. Bytedance is 60 percent owned by Western investors. The company is based in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. However, US politicians countered that the Chinese founders held a 20 percent stake thanks to higher voting rights and that Bytedance's headquarters were in Beijing, where the company could not escape the influence of the authorities.

TikTok claims to have 170 million users in the USA. During his time in office as US President, Donald Trump already tried to enforce the sale of TikTok's US business to American investors by threatening to ban it.

Backing away from ban demands
However, the plan failed primarily because US courts suspected that the plans for a TikTok ban violated the freedom of speech enshrined in the US Constitution. A current law in the state of Montana, which was intended to ban TikTok from app stores there, is also on hold for this reason. Trump has since backed away from the ban demands.