TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has urged users to "protect your constitutional rights" as the US House of Representatives passed the bill pushing to ban the platform in the country.
(Photo : Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
In a video on TikTok's official account, Chew thanked users for "making your voices heard" against Congress' "disappointing vote" on the app.
@tiktok Response to TikTok Ban Bill ♬ original sound - TikTok
Chew emphasized that the looming ban will affect 300,000 Americans working for the site, as well as "take billions of dollars out of pockets" from the 7 million creators and businesses operating on the platform.
The CEO also highlighted the 170 million users at risk of being able to "freely express themselves."
Despite the threat of a nationwide ban, Chew did not mention any plans to sell TikTok yet but "believe we can overcome this together."
Congress Pushes for Chinese Gov't Narrative for TikTok Ban
The proposed Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is aimed to ban the Chinese-based ByteDance and all "foreign adversary controlled applications" from the US.
TikTok has earlier been notified to separate from ByteDance within six months or face the ban once the bill is passed by the Senate.
US President Joe Biden, who is running for a re-election this year, has already endorsed the bill, saying "I'll sign it" once it gets the approval from Congress.
The bill is the latest government effort to effectively ban the app in the US as claims of the Chinese government influencing the people's perception of the government.
No reports have yet proven that the Chinese government has used American data via TikTok to wage its economic war against the US.
Previous attempts to ban TikTok in the US so far have been junked over potential violations of the First Amendment of free speech.
It is worth noting that TikTok, a Singapore-based company, has a separate cloud server provided by the US government to store all US users' data and content algorithm.
TikTok continues to insist that it has protected US users safe and "free from outside manipulation."
Also Read: House Passes Bill That Could Ban TikTok Unless It Separates from ByteDance
TikTok Ban: How Will it Affect You?
Several experts and even other social media leaders to the precedent the bill will give to the US government over social media.
TikTok has recently been reported as hosting more criticisms towards the Biden administration's policies than any other platform, particularly to its support towards Israel and the Palestinian genocide.
In a reply to X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk expressing similar concerns, Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr said the legislation only applies to "specific national security threat."
Important point raised here. Good news is that this particular bill is limited, not only to foreign controlled, but to foreign adversary controlled AND only when additional, specific criteria are also met.
In particular:
1. The bill does not give the government *any authority*…— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 12, 2024
The bill's sponsors, however, admitted to pushing the bill just to effectively ban TikTok.
Related Article: What Happens if TikTok is Banned in the US?
