“Rest assured – we are not going anywhere,” CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted shortly after US President Joe Biden signed the new bill. The bill gives China-based ByteDance 270 days to divest TikTok’s US assets or the app will face a ban.
“The truth and the Constitution are on our side and we hope to prevail again,” TikTok CEO said.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
Mr. Biden’s signing of the bill sets the deadline for TikTok to sell shares on January 19, 2025 – one day before his term ends. But he can extend this process for another three months if he determines that ByteDance is making progress in implementation.
In 2020, former US President Donald Trump was blocked by the court in his attempt to ban Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat.
Mr. Chew added: “Make no mistake – this is a ban on TikTok.” He emphasized that TikTok will continue to operate as the company takes legal action.
The bill was introduced as US lawmakers were concerned that China could access Americans’ data or monitor them using the app. The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the United States Senate, followed by the House of Representatives.
The four-year battle over TikTok is an important front in internet and technology competition between Washington and Beijing. Last week, Apple said China had ordered WhatsApp and Meta’s Threads to be removed from the Apple app store in China because of national security concerns.
According to Reuters, TikTok will take legal action to oppose the bill on First Amendment grounds. Meanwhile TikTok users are also expected to take legal action.
A judge in Montana in November 2023 blocked the state’s ban on TikTok, citing freedom of speech. The American Civil Liberties Union said banning or requiring TikTok divestment would “sets an alarming global precedent for excessive government control of social media platforms.”
However, experts say the bill could give the White House new tools to force the sale of other foreign-owned apps it considers a security threat.
Meanwhile, a Biden campaign official said the campaign plans to continue using TikTok. Mr. Biden signed a law at the end of 2022 banning US government employees from using TikTok on government phones.
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