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European officials threatened to fine TikTok and force it to remove some features, the latest regulatory challenge for the Chinese-owned social media app.

A new measure attempts to force the Senate’s hand on passing legislation to ban TikTok or mandate the app’s sale.

Global digital rights advocates are watching to see if Congress acts, worried that other countries could follow suit with app bans of their own.

The video app is spending millions on ads as Congress considers a bill that could lead to a U.S. ban.

Jonathan Kanter, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, made his boldest move on Thursday by accusing Apple of antitrust violations.

The California Democrat Ro Khanna pointed to the need for a federal data privacy law, and a Democrat and a Republican in the Senate suggested sympathy for the calls to ban the app.

Legislation to force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the app or have it banned in the United States sailed through the House, but the Senate has no plans to move hastily.

As legislation moves ahead that could eventually mandate a sale by the Chinese parent company ByteDance, hurdles include finding buyers.

The legislation received wide bipartisan support, with both Republicans and Democrats showing an eagerness to appear tough on China.

The bill, which would force TikTok’s Chinese parent to sell the popular social media app, faces a difficult path in the Senate.

With both parties eager to demonstrate a willingness to be tough on China, bipartisan legislation to force the Chinese owners of the platform to divest or face a ban was moving forward.

For years, Apple, Google, Meta and others operated unfettered. But new laws and regulations have finally compelled them to make major shifts to their products and businesses.

The tech industry argues that laws in Florida and Texas, prompted by conservative complaints about censorship, violate the First Amendment. The court’s decision could fundamentally alter the nature of speech on the internet.

Both Florida and Texas passed laws regulating how social media companies moderate speech online. The laws, if upheld, could fundamentally alter how the platforms police their sites.

The measure would bar networks like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram from giving accounts to children under 16.

After senators grilled the leaders of Meta, TikTok, X and others, there may be momentum to pass rules to safeguard the internet’s youngest users, some said.

Senators criticized the chief executives of Meta, TikTok, Snap, X and Discord for not doing enough to prevent child sexual abuse online, amid rising fears over how the platforms affect youths.

Artificial intelligence technology has drastically simplified the creation of images of children being exploited or abused, whether real or fake.

Fans of the star and lawmakers condemned the images, probably generated by artificial intelligence, after they were shared with millions of social media users.