The fact that the app from a Chinese manufacturer is extremely popular in the USA is a thorn in the side of the government. A law to pull TikTok’s teeth has now cleared the first hurdle.
Around 170 million, or around half of US citizens, use TikTok, at least according to the operator. It wouldn’t be so bad if TikTok didn’t belong to Bytedance, a Chinese company. This has long been a thorn in the side of the US government, which fears the risk of possible influence from the Chinese government, including through the use of US citizens’ user data.
A law that would force Bytedance to change ownership within 180 days by separating from TikTok has now cleared the first hurdle in the House of Representatives with a large majority of 352 votes to 65. The next step is the vote in the Senate, after which US President Biden could pass the law. If the law passes and Bytedance refuses to change ownership, this could mean that the TikTok app can no longer be distributed in the app stores in the USA.
The law is not without controversy in the USA, particularly with regard to constitutional freedom of speech. This is why several attempts to take on TikTok, including by former President Trump, have failed. Funnily enough, Trump of all people is now against a possible ban on the app. The Democrats, on the other hand, fear a possible loss among young voters in the event of a ban, who would probably be anything but happy with it.
Tiktok boss Shou Chew is not particularly happy about the US efforts and has already announced that he will use all legal means against the law and has also called on users to protest against it with reference to “constitutional rights”. Bytedance is also largely owned by Western investors with headquarters outside of China. However, the founders still have the majority of voting rights. The Chinese government describes the law as bullying behavior that would cause further trouble for the United States. National security reasons are being abused by the USA to suppress companies.
If the law is also passed by the Senate, some legal proceedings can be expected, as it can be assumed that Bytedance will quickly file a lawsuit due to constitutional concerns, including with regard to freedom of speech. The argument of distortion of competition could also come into play, as competitors such as Meta or X could benefit from restricting or even banning TikTok.
