The U.S. Senate is preparing to vote on legislation that requires Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the popular short video app TikTok’s U.S. assets. Senators Mark Warner and Maria Cantwell expressed hope that the app would remain in business in the U.S. under new ownership, acknowledging its large user base of 170 million Americans, particularly young people, and emphasizing the importance of ensuring that it is no longer controlled by an adversary.
The U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed bipartisan legislation giving ByteDance nine months to divest TikTok, with a possible three-month extension. President Joe Biden has indicated that he would sign the legislation if approved by the Senate. However, Senator Ed Markey raised concerns about the potential impact of the legislation on free speech rights and censorship, arguing that requiring Chinese divestment from U.S. companies is not a new concept but may result in a TikTok ban rather than a successful divestment that maintains the app for U.S