The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that could lead to the ban or sale of TikTok, marking a significant development in the ongoing debate over the app’s Chinese ownership.

What Happened: The Senate voted 79-18 in favor of the bill, which is part of a larger funding package providing aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, reported The Washington Post on Tuesday. The bill now awaits President Joe Biden‘s signature, who has said he will sign the bill into law on Wednesday.

Once signed, the bill will give TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, nine months to sell the app or face a national ban, with the possibility of a 90-day extension by the President.

The legislation, which has bipartisan support, is the most significant threat to TikTok’s U.S. operations, with over 170 million users in the country. Lawmakers have expressed concerns about the app’s Chinese ownership structure potentially compromising American data security, a claim disputed by TikTok.

TikTok is expected to challenge the bill, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle. "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,” the platform said in a statement last week.

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Why It Matters: The bill’s passage comes after years of scrutiny over TikTok’s ties to its Chinese parent company. The app previously proposed a plan, Project Texas, to safeguard U.S. data by storing it with American tech giant Oracle. However, this did not deter lawmakers from pursuing legislation to grant the executive branch power to restrict the platform.

Notable figures, including former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, have opposed the potential ban, citing concerns about free speech and national security. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, has supported the ban to prevent the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on American society.

Analyst Dan Ives believes that Microsoft and Oracle could emerge as the real winners by acquiring TikTok, with Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet Inc.’s Sundar Pichai also benefiting from the situation.

Photo by XanderSt on Shutterstock

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