TikTok fights against US ban

TikTok could possibly face a ban in the USA. US politicians are already working on a suitable law. This has already been approved in the House of Representatives. The video service is of course now doing everything it can to stop the law.

A sale as a solution?

In the USA, people have been extremely skeptical about the short video service TikTok for some time now. There is too much fear that the app, which was developed by Chinese tech company Bytedance, could pose a threat to national security. Accordingly, US politicians are already debating a possible law that could result in the service being banned. In contrast, TikTok itself is almost combative. The company emphasizes that it intends to use all legal vehicles to stop a possible law.

Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, announced this himself in a video on Wednesday. However, the video platform is confusing the public a little with these statements. If you look at the statements made by the relevant US politicians, this puts things into perspective a little. After all, they say that only the Chinese influence on TikTok should be minimized. The fear of surveillance, data collection and downright “brainwashing” in the population is too great. From the point of view of TikTok and its parent company Bytedance, however, these accusations are far-fetched.

Ban on TikTok only in the worst case scenario

On Wednesday, March 13, 2024, the time had come. The new law passed the US House of Representatives and was approved by the majority of MPs in a vote. All that remains now is for the Senate to approve it and for the US President to finally sign it into law. Joe Biden has already made it clear in advance that he is well-disposed towards the bill. However, this does not automatically mean the end for the service. TikTok could remain available in the USA if it were to be controlled by the USA from now on. However, this would require the sale of the US division of the video portal. In view of its great popularity, it would certainly not be a problem to find a suitable buyer.

• More on the topic: TikTok is banned in the US state of Montana

The service currently has a whopping 170 million users in the USA. TikTok CEO Chew, however, is extremely skeptical and is already assuming a ban. Should it come to that, he points out that almost 300,000 jobs could be lost. Furthermore, TikTok has established itself as a popular advertising platform for local businesses in recent years. This would also be lost. For this reason, he has called on the millions of users in the USA in his video to defend themselves against the impending ban. This was reported by Der Spiegel, among others. He appealed to them with the words “Protect your constitutional rights”.