Biden Signs Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan Aid, and TikTok Bill

What’s the story?

• President Joe Biden signed a bill that approved aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, which could lead to a ban on TikTok. 
• The aid package created congressional gridlock in earlier months from ongoing resistance from Republicans. Shortly after signing the bill, Biden claimed it was a “good day for world peace” and said:

“[The bill is] going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer. It’s a difficult path. It should have been easier and it should have gotten there sooner. But in the end, we did what America always does. We rose to the moment, came together, and we got it done.” 

Military aid

• The military aid package is worth $95 billion, providing resources to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. In his remarks at the White House, Biden said:

“When our allies are stronger, we are stronger.”

• Biden is facing heavy criticism for continuing to arm Israel as it proceeds in its war against Hamas, which has left more than 35,000 Palestinians dead in its wake. At the White House, he said:

“My commitment to Israel, I want to make clear again, is ironclad.”

• Biden noted that the bill includes $9 billion for humanitarian assistance worldwide, $1 billion of which is dedicated to Gaza.
• The bulk of the aid package is for Ukraine, totaling $60.8 billion to assist the nation push back against Russian forces. The Pentagon announced that over 20 types of weapons and military equipment will be sent to Ukraine, including artillery shells and air defense missiles—two weapons that Ukraine says it urgently needs. 

TikTok bill

• The newly signed bill requires TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app’s U.S. operations. If the Beijing-based company fails to do so, the app will be banned nationwide, blocking app stores and web hosts from distributing it.
• The company faces a 270-day deadline to sell the app, which will fall around the time the next president is inaugurated. If ByteDance seems close to a deal, the president can authorize a 90-day extension. 
• U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that China is seeing and utilizing TikTok’s user data. Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, said that ByteDance is “controlled by the Chinese government,” warning that Beijing authorities could influence the American public by manipulating the algorithm on the app. 
• TikTok has denied the allegation time and time again. Last year, TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew said during a congressional hearing:

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”

• TikTok declared that it will fight the bill in the courts, calling it a breach of free speech. Michael Beckerman, head of TikTok’s public policy for the Americas, wrote:

“We’ll continue to fight, as this legislation is a clear violation of the first amendment rights of the 170 million Americans on TikTok.”

Do you support the bill?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: Flickr/The White House)