The US Senate has approved a controversial landmark bill that could ensure TikTok is banned in America.
The United States has offered TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, nine months to sell its stake or the app will be blocked.
The bill will now be handed over to US President Joe Biden, who has said he will sign it into law as soon as it reaches his desk.
According to BBC, TikTok has said that it did not have an immediate response to the development, as previously Bytedance said it would oppose any attempt to force it to sell TikTok.
If the US is successful in forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok any deal would still need approval from Chinese officials but Beijing has vowed to oppose any such move.
The measure was passed as part of a package of four bills which also included military aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and other US partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
It had widespread support from lawmakers, with 79 Senators voting for it and 18 against.
“For years we’ve allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America that was dangerously short-sighted,” said Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee.
“A new law is going to require its Chinese owner to sell the app. This is a good move for America,” he added.
Fears that data about millions of Americans could land in China’s hands have driven Congressional efforts to split TikTok from the Beijing-based company.
