However, TikTok plans to exhaust all legal options before considering any form of divestiture from its parent company. China has assured that the “repression” against the video application is “an intimidation tactic” that will ultimately turn against the US.
The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that could ban TikTok in the United States if the social network does not divest its Chinese ownership.
The project was approved by a vote of 352 in favor to 65 – with 15 votes being Republicans and 50 Democrats – and must now receive approval from the Senate and be ratified by the President. Joe Biden, who has said he would sign that law. The American president believes that TikTok, with more than 100 million users in the country, poses a risk to domestic security.
The proposal was unanimously endorsed last Thursday – 50 votes in favor and none against – by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee and if ultimately approved by both chambers and the government, it would give 180 days to the Chinese ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, to sell the application.
For his part, TikTok plans to exhaust all legal options before considering any form of divestiture from its parent company, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. The sale of the viral video app is considered a last resort for ByteDance, the sources said, adding that no plan is final and will depend on the progress of legislation.
Likewise, a Divestment of ByteDance It would also need approval from the Chinese government, which said last year it would strongly oppose a forced sale.
A TikTok spokesperson would not comment on the company’s plans. The legislation “has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban on TikTok in the United States,” the spokesperson said.
China assured this Wednesday that the “repression” against the video application TikTok by the US is “an intimidating tactic” that will ultimately “turn against” the North American country.
The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin During a press conference, he accused the United States of using intimidation tactics instead of “competing fairly” and “never finding evidence that TikTok threatens national security.”
Wenbin has assured that the behavior of the United States “disrupts normal business operations, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment and destroys the international economic and trade order”, while warning that US stocks “will turn against the country”.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
