What's happened
President Biden has signed legislation requiring TikTok parent ByteDance to sell to a U.S. owner within a year or face a shutdown. This move comes after a bipartisan bill passed in Congress, signaling a shift in the U.S. government's stance on the popular social media platform.
Why it matters
The U.S. legislation targeting TikTok reflects growing concerns over national security and data privacy. The potential sale or shutdown of TikTok could have significant implications for the social media industry and users worldwide. This move may also impact U.S.-China relations and set a precedent for regulating foreign-owned tech companies.
What the papers say
The New York Times highlights the swift shift in the U.S. government's approach to TikTok, from unlikely intervention to passing legislation requiring ByteDance to sell the platform. The Independent provides a timeline of TikTok's evolution and the legislative actions leading to its uncertain future.
How we got here
TikTok, originally launched in 2017 after merging with Musical.ly, has faced scrutiny over data privacy and national security concerns. The platform's rapid rise to global popularity has drawn attention from lawmakers, leading to the recent legislative efforts to address these issues.
More on these topics
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TikTok/Douyin is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based Internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming.
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ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese multinational internet technology company headquartered in Beijing. It was founded by Zhang Yiming in 2012. ByteDance is reportedly worth over US$100 billion as of May 2020.
ByteDance's core product, Toutiao, is a content platf
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China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion in 2019.
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Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is an American politician who is the 46th and current president of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and represented Delaware in the United States Senate