TikTok vows to fight in court as new law jeopardizing ban is approved by President Biden | US News
TikTok has vowed to challenge a new law that could lead to its ban in the US, stating that “we aren’t going anywhere,” according to the app’s CEO.
President Joe Biden signed the law, which requires the platform to be sold within nine months or face being blocked due to concerns about user data being shared with the Chinese government.
Despite TikTok’s assurances that it would not share user data with the Chinese government, US politicians remain skeptical and have approved the law as part of a $95bn (£76.2bn) aid package for Ukraine and Israel.
In response, TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew released a video on the platform asserting, “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again.”
The company also issued a statement stating, “This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail.”
It is possible that the legal challenge may argue that a ban would infringe on the First Amendment rights of TikTok’s 170 million US users.
Furthermore, the law may face opposition from TikTok creators who rely on the platform for their livelihood, while China has expressed opposition to a forced sale.
Why is TikTok facing a US ban?
Attracting around 170 million US users in seven years, TikTok has taken America by storm. But there have long been concerns in Washington about the China-based ownership of the social media platform.
Beijing-based tech firm ByteDance originally launched the Chinese version of the app called Douyin, meaning “shaking sound,” in 2016. They followed up with an international version – TikTok – in November 2017.
Since then, the platform has had a meteoric rise. Fueled by its popularity among Gen-Z, it has become an influential social media platform. But it has become a target for both sides of the political spectrum in Washington, as well as in other Western countries, due to fears over the use of user data.
Politicians and officials in the US have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over US user data. TikTok has said it has never done that and would not do so if asked. There are also fears over influence on Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content on TikTok.
The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security, and security research purposes. A similar ban is also in place for civil servants in the UK.
India was the first country to ban TikTok in 2020 following a violent clash on the India-China border that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Interestingly, TikTok is also not available in app stores in China – where the internet is tightly controlled by the state – and Douyin is used instead.
Last month, TikTok’s CEO appealed directly to US users to oppose the bill forcing the app’s sale and accused lawmakers in the US of attempting to shut down the platform. In a video posted on the platform, Shou Zi Chew told users that the bill “will lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States,” adding: “Even the bill’s sponsors admit that’s their goal.”
The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US.
However, there are limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security, and security research purposes.
Read more from Sky News:
What does bill mean – and could same happen in the UK?
How ‘TikTok idiots’ are disrupting police investigations
TikTok CEO appeals to users to oppose potential US ban
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Senate commerce committee chair Maria Cantwell emphasized that the move to force TikTok’s sale is not intended to “punish” ByteDance, TikTok, or other companies, but rather to prevent foreign adversaries from engaging in harmful activities against Americans.
“Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, malign operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our US government personnel,” she said.
