The House of Representatives passed a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the United States. CEO Shou Zi Chew posted a video explaining what it means to get banned in the USA and emphasizing the impact on its users.
US officials fear that ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) could potentially compromise the personal data of TikTok’s huge American user base, which is estimated at 170 million people. While TikTok has denied such claims, skepticism persists regarding the influence of Chinese authorities.
Policy Implications
The bill mandates ByteDance to sell TikTok within 165 days. Failure to comply would result in a ban on TikTok’s availability on U.S. app stores and web-hosting platforms.
Content creators who rely on TikTok for their livelihoods will be impacted, unable to create and share content if the app is banned. Thousands of TikTok employees in the U.S. could face unemployment. The U.S. government’s explanation for the ban originates from honest fears about the Chinese government potentially having an access to the personal data of TikTok’s 170 million American users.
TikTok’s Response and Legal Strategy
TikTok has obviously opposed the bill and described it as an attempt to stop its operations in the U.S. Even if the bill clears the Senate, TikTok’s future remains unclear. Meanwhile, Meta (formerly Facebook) and Instagram will perhaps benefit from TikTok’s potential exit from the U.S. market.
@tiktok Response to TikTok Ban Bill
CEO Shou Zi Chew’s Message: “There has been a lot of misinformation.”
TikTok’s CEO emphasized that the company has invested in the safety of user data on the app. He then explained that if this legislation is signed into law, it will lead to TikTok being banned in the US, which will give more power to other social media companies such as Facebook, Instagram, etc.
He also said that the banning of TikTok will take billions of dollars from content creators and small business owners who use their platform and put 300,000 American jobs at risk. Additionally, he highlighted the positive impact of TikTok on teachers who use the platform to teach and educate younger generations.
