President Joe Biden signed a $95billion bill that provides aid to Ukraine and Israel but also requires that ByteDance sell TikTok within nine months or face a nationwide ban (Pictures: EPA/AFP/Reuters)
President Joe Biden has signed a nearly $100billion bill that includes massive funding for Ukraine and Israel – but will also either ban TikTok or force its Chinese parent company to divest.
Biden after signing the $95billion bill on Wednesday called it ‘a good day for world peace’.
He avoided mentioning that the bill could potentially cancel the popular social media platform, which many Americans use and some rely on for their livelihoods.
The bill includes about $61billion in aid for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, as well as $26billion mostly for Israel’s military forces in its fight against Hamas.
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Biden’s approval settled a six-month political battle in Congress over the foreign aid. The House passed the bill on Saturday, and the Senate followed suit on Tuesday night with a bipartisan 79-18 vote.
‘The path to my desk was a difficult path. It should have been easier and it should’ve gotten there sooner,’ Biden said. ‘But in the end, we did what America always does, we rose to the moment.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude to the US for approving funding to Kyiv.
‘President Biden signed into law today the support package approved by Congress, which includes Ukraine aid. We completed this half-year path. Regardless of what anyone says, we are gaining the support we need to continue protecting lives from Russian attacks,’ wrote Zelensky on X (formerly Twitter).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for approving aid (Picture: X/@ZelenskyyUa)
‘I am grateful to President Biden, Congress, and all Americans who recognize that we must cut the ground under Putin’s feet rather than obeying him, as this is the only way to truly reduce threats to freedom. Together, we can ensure this.
The legislation allocates $8billion for Taiwan to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.
It also requires that the Chinese company ByteDance sell TikTok within nine months, or potentially see the app banned across the US.
US lawmakers have argued that the Chinese government could use TikTok as a spying tool and influence the American public.
TikTok vowed to fight the ‘unconstitutional law’ in court (Picture: X/@TikTokPolicy)
TikTok stated that ‘this unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban’ and that the company will challenge the legislation in court. It claimed it has invested billions of dollars to keep American data safe from outside manipulation and influence.
‘This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans,’ stated TikTok on X (formerly Twitter).
‘As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired.’
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