“A ban would destroy seven million businesses” » Leadersnet

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, X: almost all globally relevant social media platforms, including the user data they collect, are in the hands of US companies. The biggest exception is TikTok – the service, which is particularly popular among young people, claims to have 170 million users in the US alone and is owned by ByteDance. The company's headquarters is located in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

In short, many American politicians fear that the Chinese government will use the popular app to collect data on American citizens. TikTok strongly denies any such collaboration. However, on Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed the so-called Peace through Strength for the 21st Century Act.

In an unusual set of measures, he not only released the financial resources of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but also issued an ultimatum to ByteDance and TikTok: The Chinese must sell their company to an American company within 270 days. Otherwise, you risk having your app banned from all major app stores.

Combat company

“This unconstitutional law is a ban on TikTok and we will challenge it in court,” TikTok said in a statement on Wednesday. “We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side and that we will prevail in the end.” Official statement To sign.

Moreover: “The truth is that we have invested billions of dollars to ensure the security of American data and keep our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban will bankrupt seven million companies and silence 170 million Americans.”

TikTok will still be usable – at first

If ByteDance does not attempt to sell the product as desired by the US government within the specified time, Apple or Google will no longer be able to offer the app in their digital outlets, as specified. Existing users will likely continue to use TikTok, but they will have to forego official updates in the future — and the result could be compatibility issues or security vulnerabilities that grow over time.

Shou Zi Chew also made clear in his video statement that there was little interest initially in complying with the wishes of the United States. In it, the Singapore-born TikTok CEO describes: “Many of the politicians who supported the bill publicly acknowledge that banning TikTok is their ultimate goal. It's obviously a disappointing moment for us, but it shouldn't be the moment that defines us.”

@TikTok

Response to the TikTok ban bill

♬ original sound – TikTok

Chiu emphasizes that TikTok's values ​​and those of the United States on freedom of expression are aligned. He assures users that TikTok is “not going anywhere” and wants to fight for their rights in court. The CEO also addresses the seven million companies already mentioned in the written statement that use TikTok as a business basis and emphasizes that his company operates with security measures that go beyond those of similar companies.

Another exciting aspect: ByteDance's deadline falls on the next presidential term in the United States of America. Donald Trump, who is running again for the highest office in the United States in the fall, recently spoke out against banning TikTok because it would strengthen Facebook, which he doesn't value much. In theory, a scenario is conceivable in which TikTok patiently weathers the current storm, hopes Trump wins the election, and can then operate as usual — for now.