Congress Approves US Legislation Against TikTok: Disentanglement or Ban

In an unprecedented vote, the US Senate approved, by an overwhelming majority, legislation demanding the decoupling of TikTok and its Chinese parent company, Bytedance. President Joe Biden has already signaled his support, indicating its imminent enactment, which allows Bytedance only one year to separate from TikTok or accept its removal from US app stores. This reinforces the US stance towards the Chinese firm, which is considered by American authorities to be under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Concerns about the transfer of American citizens’ data and political manipulation were raised, although TikTok denies these allegations. However, the law's validity in court, which runs contrary to an earlier ban, remains questionable. Beijing, on the other hand, interprets American actions as an attempt to hinder international competitors under the guise of national security and denies any illegal requests for data collection by companies. As part of a comprehensive package, which also includes support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, the law was unexpectedly quickly passed by the Senate. President Biden, who pursues a tough line against China, must still heed the app's popularity among the young electorate, whose votes could be crucial for his reelection in November – not least since his team opened its own TikTok account. TikTok, in particular, insists that it should not be considered a Chinese subsidiary, arguing that Western investors are predominantly involved in the company. US politicians counter this and refer to the headquarters and the continuing strong control rights of the Chinese founders. Moreover, the EU is again assessing potential risks to the mental health of minors and compliance with EU directives, in a case against the TikTok Lite app. With its 170 million American users, TikTok had already been the target of earlier attempts at prohibition under former President Donald Trump, which failed due to constitutional freedom rights in the USA and are not currently being pursued.