President Biden signs bill to ban TikTok; how will it impact you?

Reporter: Jolena Esperto Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
TikTok
TikTok ban at FGCU. CREDIT: WINK News

President Joe Biden signed a bill granting a $95 billion package that provides foreign aid funding to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan while forcing social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in the U.S

Late Tuesday, the United States Senate passed legislation to ban the popular social media platform TikTok unless a new owner is selected.

The legislation then went to President Biden’s desk, where he signed it into law on Wednesday.

The Chinese-owned social media juggernaut now must be sold to avoid the threat of the ban.

The original proposal gave the social media owner ByteDance six months to divest from its U.S. subsidiary; negotiations lengthened it to nine. If the sale is already in progress, the company will get another three months to complete it.

Biden states that TikTok poses a threat to the U.S. due to its ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the ability to collect data on Americans.

The Chinese Communist Party can also push narratives and downplay criticisms onto social media users.

WINK News spoke with content creator/influencer Jorge Almodovar about his opinion on the potential ban.

“People are like, ‘Oh, our security.’ And to me, it’s like the security of what they will know that I’m in my house making a TikTok, but they’re not protecting me for everything,” said Almodovar. “If anything, they’re taking an opportunity away from me to become a successful entrepreneur, and it all started with TikTok.”

If the ban goes through, the app will not disappear from your cell phone; however, the app will be removed from the Apple and Android app stores.

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