TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to Wednesday’s vote on a proposed U.S. TikTok ban, calling it “disappointing” and saying the company may take legal action. TikTok doesn’t seem ready to give in without a fight.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act on Wednesday, voting 352 to 65 in favor of proposed legislation to ban TikTok. The bill will now go to the Senate for a vote and, if approved, go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
Proposed TikTok ban in US could affect all Chinese apps
Ahead of the vote, TikTok users flooded Congress with calls asking representatives not to pass the bill after an in-app pop-up informed them of the situation. Now, CEO Zhou is directly urging users to continue sharing their stories with senators and “protect your constitutional rights.”
“If this legislation is signed into law, will Resulting in TikTok being banned in the United States,” Chew said in a video uploaded to TikTok’s official account. Twitter/X. “Even the bill sponsors admit that’s their goal. This bill gives more power to a handful of other social media companies. It will also take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses. It will It puts more than 300,000 American jobs at risk and it takes TikTok away from you.”
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TikTok’s CEO highlighted the app’s contribution to promoting U.S. small businesses, nurturing content creators and contributing to the U.S. economy. A study commissioned by TikTok found that the app contributed $24.2 billion to U.S. GDP in 2023 and supported 224,000 jobs. TikTok itself has about 7,000 U.S. employees, many of whom may be feeling a little nervous right now.
Of course, any research funded by the companies studied must be taken with a grain of salt. Even so, it is undeniable that countless American small businesses have experienced significant growth due to TikTok. Content creators like popular food critic Keith Lee have revived some struggling businesses, while virality on TikTok has helped others succeed.
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“The process is secretive and the bill is blocked for one reason: it’s a ban.” TikTok said in a statement after Wednesday’s vote. “We hope the Senate will consider the facts, listen to voters and recognize the impact this will have on the economy, the 7 million small businesses and the 170 million Americans who use our services.”
Chew said TikTok will continue to fight for survival in the United States, “including exercising [its] Fortunately, the platform already has some case law to rely on if it ends up suing. Montana’s attempt to ban TikTok was blocked in December after a judge deemed the bill unconstitutional, ruling that the legislation impeded free speech and expression. The company was punished without a trial.
Why US lawmakers claim TikTok ban is not a ban
Photo credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Although the bill does not allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States as before, it does provide a way out. TikTok could remain in the United States if its Chinese parent, ByteDance, sells the platform to another company, particularly one that the U.S. government deems not “controlled by a foreign adversary.”
Chew did not comment directly on this provision, but it would undoubtedly be a last resort if considered.
If TikTok fails to operate in the United States, ByteDance will suffer a major blow, and if the social media platform is released on the market, its price will be high. However, it’s not entirely inconceivable that ByteDance might choose to simply shut down TikTok’s U.S. operations and focus on other countries, rather than building a thriving competitor and providing it with trade secrets. Pulling rather than selling might be a drastic move, but so is a TikTok ban.
Still, few seem convinced that ByteDance won’t eventually be sold. Vultures are already circling, with former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick reportedly expressing interest in acquiring TikTok if the legislation passes. He even said the same thing directly to ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming.
On the one hand, you don’t want to miss out on a deal like this because you didn’t move fast enough. On the other hand, it feels a bit like offering to buy someone’s house while they’re still trying to put out a kitchen fire.
Lawmakers who voted to ban TikTok are still using it
According to Gizmodo, several politicians who voted for the TikTok ban actually have their own accounts, and North Carolina Congressman Jeff Jackson even posted a video less than 24 hours ago. In it, Jackson tried to defend his clearly disingenuous vote by claiming that TikTok wouldn’t actually be banned if the bill became law because ByteDance would only sell the social media platform to a company in a country where the U.S. approves it.
“The bill that the House just passed is about telling TikTok that they have to sell to another company,” Jackson said. “It hasn’t passed the Senate yet, and I don’t know if it will. If it passes, TikTok will be sold for billions of dollars and will continue to operate.”
That seems like a pretty big assumption, especially considering ByteDance has given absolutely no indication that it’s ready to sell.
Also, saying this bill isn’t a ban because TikTok can be sold directly is a bit like saying you don’t Technically Murder someone – you just chase them with a knife until you drive them over a cliff, and it’s up to them whether to jump or not.
Unsurprisingly, the comments on Jackson’s video were harsh.
“We will remember you for voting yes on Tik tok [sic] popular TikTok user Noah Glenn Carter wrote in one of the most popular comments on the video. As of this writing, the video has received over 57,000 likes.
Ban Chinese apps
Photo credit: Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
While the legislation specifically names TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, it would also affect other Chinese apps like WeChat. U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that the Chinese government could access U.S. users’ information through such apps or manipulate algorithms to show content sympathetic to China.
They are far less concerned about similar behavior by U.S. authorities, even if such an occurrence has been confirmed. There are currently no confirmed cases of TikTok providing U.S. user information to China.
“Over the past few years, we have made investments to keep your data secure and to ensure our platform is protected from external manipulation,” Chew said. “We have committed and we will continue to do so.”
In response to lawmakers’ concerns, TikTok invested $1.5 billion and 2,000 employees to segregate U.S. users’ data and store it at Oracle Corporation in the United States. Unfortunately, as the recent attempt to ban TikTok demonstrates, the Texas program appears to be doing nothing to allay their fears.