Due to the threat of a ban: TikTok calls on its American users to political protest

The short video platform TikTok is mobilizing its American users by warning of a ban on the app in the US. “Congress is planning a total ban on TikTok,” the agency said in a statement on Thursday (local time).

There was a button on the display to call the representatives of the user’s respective constituency. The tech website “The Information” reported that a sales representative’s office became so inundated with calls that employees had no choice but to turn off the phones.

Bill under consideration

With the warning, TikTok referred to a bill currently being drafted in the US House of Representatives. The document, drawn up jointly by Democrats and Republicans, would give TikTok owner Bytedance almost six months to relinquish control of the popular app. Otherwise, TikTok risks being banned from US app stores. The service claims to have 170 million users in the US.

TikTok is the only successful online platform in the West that does not originate from the US. There are concerns, especially in the US, but also in Europe, that the app could be misused by Chinese authorities to collect information about users. Governments of several countries and the European Commission have banned the use of TikTok on mobile phones at work.

TikTok always dismisses concerns and emphasizes that it does not see itself as a subsidiary of a Chinese company. Bytedance is 60 percent owned by Western investors. The company’s headquarters are in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean.

Critics counter that the Chinese founders, with a 20 percent stake, retained control thanks to higher voting rights and that Bytedance has a major headquarters in Beijing. US lawmakers often link TikTok directly to the Chinese Communist Party.

Biden divided – because of elections

During his term as US president, Donald Trump tried to force a sale of TikTok’s US operations to US investors, under threat of a ban. But the plan failed because US courts suspected the plans for a TikTok ban would violate the freedom of expression enshrined in the US Constitution. A law in the state of Montana that would ban TikTok from app stores there has also been suspended.

The website Punchbowl News recently reported that US President Joe Biden’s White House supported the new legislative initiative. Biden’s Democrats are divided when it comes to TikTok: on the one hand, the president wants to take a tough stance on China, and on the other, the app is popular among young users, whose votes he needs for re-election in November.

(dsc/sda/dpa)