TikTok warns it will go to court after law that could ban the platform in the US | World and Science

TikTok’s executive director said that a law enacted this Wednesday (24) by President Joe Biden constitutes a ban on the platform and stated that the company will take legal action.

“Make no mistake: this is a ban. A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” Shou Zi Chew launched in a video message published on the platform itself.

“We will continue to fight for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we hope to win,” he said.

The United States Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that forces parent company ByteDance, a Chinese entertainment giant, to sell TikTok within 12 months. Otherwise, the platform will be removed from smartphone app stores across the United States.

The initiative had previously been approved in the House of Representatives of Congress.

“It is a disappointing moment, but it will not necessarily be decisive”, declared the CEO of the Chinese company. “It’s ironic because freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values ​​that make the United States a beacon of freedom,” he added.

Privacy controversy

Many American political leaders believe that TikTok – which has 170 million users in the United States – allows the Beijing government to collect private data to spy on and manipulate its users.

“When Americans think about the power, access, capabilities and control that TikTok has, they have to ask themselves what they think about it in the hands of TikTok’s parent company and therefore the Chinese government and, ultimately, of Chinese intelligence services,” FBI director Christopher Wray told NBC on Tuesday.

“We invest billions of dollars to protect your data and preserve our platform from all external manipulation,” argues Chew.

“This legislation is unconstitutional,” said Kate Ruane, from the American NGO Center for Democracy and Technology.

Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), spoke out last week against the measure, although “it may favor” his social network. He claims that his position is to defend “freedom of expression”.

The text goes beyond TikTok, as it gives the power to the President of the United States to designate other applications as threats to national security if they are controlled by a country considered hostile.

Problems in Europe

Also this Wednesday, TikTok suspended a program launched in France and Spain that offered rewards to users and that had sparked an investigation by the European Union on suspicion of generating “addictive behavior.”

On X, TikTok announced: “We will voluntarily suspend rewards features in TikTok Lite (a simplified version of the app) while we address concerns raised (by regulators).”

“TikTok always seeks to collaborate constructively with the European Commission (the executive arm of the EU) and other regulators,” the message said.