TMTPost -- With a critical procedural vote, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday moved closer to pass a bill that could ban TikTok in the country.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

The Senate voted to advance the legislation to provide the US$95 billion aid package to Ukriane and threaten Chinese tech giant ByteDance’s U.S. operations including TikTok. The vote of 80-19 showcased a wide bipartisan support that is enough to clear the Senate in a final vote, which could come as soon as Tuesday night.

The U.S. House of Representatives greenlighted the bill by a 360-58 vote Saturday. The bill would give ByteDance up to a year to divest its U.S. assets including TikTok, otherwise the Chinese tech giant would face a ban on its app being available in U.S. app stores or on U.S. web hosting services. The requirement of the latest bill suggested the deadline of TikTok sales was extended by six months after a bill the House passed last month would have allowed.

A standalone bill with a six-month selling deadline was passed in the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote as both Democrats and Republicans voiced national security concerns about the application's owner, the Chinese technology firm ByteDance. The approved version of the bill on Saturday would extend the timeframe for TikTok to find a new owner to 270 days, compared to the approximately six months stipulated in previous versions of the legislation. Additionally, the bill grants the White House the authority to prolong this deadline by another 90 days if the president deems that progress has been made towards a sale.

If the Senate passed the bill, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law. He expressed support for the legislation when the House unveiled the bill that gives a six-month deadline for sales in March. "This bill is important, we welcome this step," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last month after the U.S. House approved the TikTok Divestiture Bill by an overwhelming vote of 352 to 65. But she said the White House doesn't see the bill as a ban on TikTok but rather ensuring its "ownership isn't in the hands of those who may do us harm." "This is about our national security, obviously," Jean-Pierre said.

Supporters of the bill say it is necessary in order to mitigate national security risks the app poses due to China-based ByteDance. TikTok previously insisted it has never shared U.S. data and never would. It has said ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country. In a statement Sunday, TikTok warned Sunday that a potential ban on the popular short video app would trample free speech in U.S.

"It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24bn to the US economy annually," TikTok said.

China will do whatever it takes to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said after the U.S. House vote last month. The U.S. side should earnestly respect the market economy and the principle of fair competition, cease unjust suppression of foreign companies and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for enterprises from all countries, He commented at a regular press conference last month.