On Wednesday morning, President Joe Biden signed a bill that packaged $95 billion of foreign aid with a potential ban on the popular video-sharing app TikTok. The bill passed with a resounding "yes" in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, with the latter voting on Tuesday, sending the bill to the president's desk.
The legislation requires ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell TikTok to an American company within nine months. The company will receive a three-month extension should it be in the midst of a sale. The ban comes amid concerns that the app is a security threat to the United States as it is owned by a foreign power.
In a congressional hearing, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said that he had "seen no evidence that the Chinese government has access to [U.S. user] data."
TikTok has also been accused of censoring content that is unfavorable to China, including Tiananmen Square and protests in Hong Kong. In 2020, an executive admitted that the app had censored specific content such as the detainment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
TikTok isn't going down without a fight.
Prior to the bill's passing, TikTok's U.S. head of public policy, Michael Beckerman, promised that the company would "move to the courts for a legal challenge" once the bill was signed.
Chew had a quick reply to the President's signing the bill. In a two-minute video, aptly posted to TikTok, he addresses the potential ban. Chew reassured users that "we aren't going anywhere."
@tiktoknewsroom Response to TikTok Ban Bill ♬ original sound - TikTok Newsroom
He framed the ban as a means of stifling Americans' voices, saying "Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice."
"Politicians may say otherwise, but don't get confused," he continued.
Chew and TikTok will argue that banning the video-sharing platform is a violation of freedom of speech.
"TikTok gives everyday Americans a powerful way to be seen and heard," said Chew.
He elaborated that it is "ironic" of the U.S. government to try to ban the app given that it offers "freedom of expression," which "reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom."
The CEO continued to reassure users that TikTok is "confident" in their suit and expect to prevail in the courts.
"The facts and the Constitution are on our side," concluded Chew.
He also encouraged TikTok users to voice their support the app, asking those with a "story about how TikTok impacts your life....to share it to showcase exactly what we're fighting for."
The platform has over 170 million active users, and more than 7 million business. TikTok has provided small and medium-size businesses a space to grow. Per a study from Oxford Economics, the app "drove $14.7 billion in revenue in a dozen key sectors in the US economy and contributed $24.2 billion to overall GDP in 2023."
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