TikTok announces resistance to US law for reasons

TikTok boss Shou Chew wants to defend himself against the US law aimed at bringing the short video app under the control of US investors. TikTok will do everything it can to defend the platform, he said in a video published Wednesday.

The company insists that the purpose of the law is to ban the app in the US, while US politicians say it is simply intended to ensure that Chinese authorities cannot influence TikTok in a way that harms US interests. The company and parent company Bytedance deny all allegations.

The law could lead to TikTok being banned from US app stores if there is no transfer of ownership. It was passed by a large majority in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday and must now be passed by the Senate as the second chamber of Parliament. President Joe Biden has already announced he will sign it.

Apparently 300,000 jobs are at risk

Shou Chew pointed out that the law would give “a handful of other social media companies” more influence. The TikTok boss also claimed the bill would put 300,000 US jobs at risk. His company often refers to small businesses that use the service for advertising. TikTok claims to have 170 million users in the US.

It is currently unclear whether the law will receive sufficient support in the Senate. In the House of Representatives, a cross-party majority of Republicans and Democrats came together 352 votes to 65. In the Senate, where Biden’s Democrats have a slim majority, there are supporters and critics of the plan on both sides.

Concerns about freedom of expression

One concern is that a ban on TikTok could be challenged by citing freedom of speech enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. That is why Donald Trump, as US President, had already failed in court in his attempt to force an ownership transfer at TikTok. And that’s why a prohibition law in the US state of Montana is currently on hold.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said this week that it is not about a TikTok ban, but about a transfer of ownership. He then asked the rhetorical question: “Do we want TikTok as a platform to be owned by an American company – or by China?”

TikTok rejects all concerns and emphasizes that it does not see itself as a subsidiary of a Chinese company. Bytedance is ultimately 60 percent owned by Western investors and the company is headquartered 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.

(dsc/sda/dpa)