Yesterday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill requiring ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok or face a permanent ban on the app in the US. Following the news, TikTok CEO Shou Chewreleased a videoon American users to react.
The bill, titled “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” passed the House Wednesday morning with a clear vote: 352 votes in favor and 65 against. Although it was largely supported in the House, it remains unclear whether it will pass the Senate or not. If it does, President Biden will sign it.
If the bill becomes law, ByteDance will have 165 days to comply, otherwise a ban on TikTok will be announced, meaning app stores including the Apple App Store and Google Playwill stop hosting the app.
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In light of the bill, TikTok CEO Shou Chew took to the app and asked its 170 million users to share their stories with their senators to “protect their constitutional rights”and “make their voices heard.”
The video has garnered millions of views and likes, as well as over 100,000 comments in less than 14 hours.
In the comments section, it's clear that users support the CEO and don't want to lose the app.
The comments continue, and many say that TikTok is the only platform that users trust and feel safe using.
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The White House, for its part, hopes the Senate will act quickly. The US government considers TikTok a national security threat, as Bytedance could collect sensitive data of American users and hand it over to the Chinese government. For its part, TikTok's CEO has repeatedly stated that it does not collect or share US user data.
The bill could have significant implications for TikTok users in the United States. If ByteDance does not sell the platform, TikTok would be banned entirely, which would mean users would no longer be able to enjoy content or create new content on the platform.
See also: Donald Trump: Banning TikTok will strengthen Facebook
As the company itself said, the ban could lead to lost opportunities for influencers and content creators who use the platform to make money.
Additionally, if TikTok is sold to another company, users could face changes to how the platform operates, depending on how the new company decides to manage the platform. This could include changes to content policy, advertising capabilities, and user data protection.
Source: 9to5mac.com
