TikTok CEO Responds to US Ban, Says ‘We’re Not Going Anywhere’

• Moments after Joe Biden signed the bill that gives TikTok 270 days to cut ties with ByteDance or risk getting banned, TikTok has responded.
• CEO Shou Chew says they will pursue a legal battle which he expects to win and adds that TikTok isn't going anywhere.
• US Senator Laphonza Butler and Ron Wyden have opposed the bill since it can affect 8,000 jobs.

On Wednesday (April 24), TikTok CEO Shou Chew said that he's expecting to win the legal battle against regulators who recently passed a bill that forces the company to either cut ties with its parent company ByteDance or face a country-wide ban.

Moments after the bill was signed by President Joe Biden, Chew posted a video saying Rest assured - we aren't going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again."

The bill gas set the sale deadline to January 19, 2025. This means TikTok has about 270 days to complete the sale unless it can manage to get this decision overturned.

Why Is the US Banning TikTok?

The US is banning TikTok over security concerns. TikTok's parent company is ByteDance, which is a China-based company. And it's no secret that the relationship between the US and China is at an all-time low right now.

The US is worried that China will use its influence on ByteDance and TikTok to either spy on US citizens or manipulate them through targeted content. Either way, it's a huge security risk.

However, TikTok has repeatedly assured that it doesn't share user data with the Chinese government. In fact, it even said that the data of US users are stored on servers based in the US. But nothing could convince the US authorities.

You can read more about the causes of the TikTok ban in my detailed coverage of the first TikTok ban bill.

What Do US Officials Have to Say about The TikTok Ban?

Addressing the ban, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said that banning the app is not their primary goal. It's the PRC ownership that they are worried about. PRC stands for People's Republic of China.

While most members of the House and other officials are in support of the bill, Senator Laphonza Butler raises some legitimate concerns.

In a letter to Biden, Butler wrote that banning TikTok would also mean that all the 8,000 US employees working in the company will lose their jobs.

Furthermore, the ban will also affect the country's local economy, considering a lot of creators and small businesses make a living from the app.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden added that if the bill is passed, it will give the government the power to ban or force the sale of any app on security grounds. According to her, future administrators can misuse this power and violate American citizen's First Amendment Rights.

The funny thing is, despite banning TikTok for citizens, a campaign official said that Biden's reelection campaign is planning to keep using TikTok. If that actually happens, it'll certainly give the opposers of the bill another weapon to fight.

What Are the Two TikTok Ban Bills?

The bill that was ultimately signed a couple of days ago was the second TikTok ban bill. The first bill was passed in March. Here's everything you need to know about the two bills:

• The first bill gave TikTok only 6 months, butthe second bill gives it 9 monthsplus an additional 90 days if Biden is convinced that it has made some progress towards separating from ByteDance.
• The first bill was introduced separately whereas the second bill was bundled into a 5-piece legislation that also contained bills on Ukraine grants, Israel grants, and immigration laws. This is a major reason why the bill was passed much faster.
• The first bill banned TikTok from all app stores and every other online platform in the US. However, the second bill only bans it from US app stores. Users might still be able to access it from other sources.

Beijing has already announced that it'll block the sale of TikTok to any other company. In fact, it recently revised the export rules so that the sale can be stopped on national grounds.

It's worth noting that more than the TikTok app itself, China is concerned about its state-of-the-art algorithm. So, even if TikTok is sold, it will probably be sold without the algorithm that's all the reason for its success, which will be a huge downgrade for the company.

The other option for TikTok is to let go of its massive 170 million user base in the USA. All in all, unless TikTok manages to win the legal challenge, as it expects to, none of the options look like a good choice.

The post TikTok CEO Responds to US Ban, Says We're Not Going Anywhere' appeared first on The Tech Report.