[ad_1]
Hours after the House of Representatives passed a bill that could ban TikTok in the United States, Xu Qiu, the company’s CEO, urged users to “protect their constitutional rights.” Chiu also noted that TikTok would pose a legal challenge if the bill passes into law.
“We will not stop fighting and defending you,” Chiu said in a message. video Posted on X. “We will continue to do everything we can including exercising our legal rights to protect this amazing platform we have created with you.” TikTok users in the US were also asked to share their stories with friends, families and senators. “If this legislation becomes law, will “This led to TikTok being banned in the US,” Chiu said. “Even the bill’s sponsors acknowledge that this is their goal.”
The bill, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Controlled Apps Act, passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday with bipartisan support just days after it was introduced. If the bill passes into law, it would force TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, a Chinese company, to sell TikTok to a US company within six months, or it would be banned from US app stores and web hosting services. TikTok has defied nationwide bans in the past. Last year, TikTok filed a lawsuit against Montana, which banned the app in the state. A federal judge temporarily blocked the ban in November before it took effect.
Last week, TikTok sent notices to more than 170 million users of the app in the United States urging them to contact their representatives about a potential ban. “Speak now – before your government strips 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free speech,” the notice read. The flurry of notifications reportedly led to House staff being inundated with calls from high school students asking about the congressman. Lawmakers criticized the company, which they considered trying to “interfere” in the legislative process.
In his appeal, Chiu said banning TikTok would give “more power to a handful of other social media companies.” Former President Donald Trump, who once tried to force ByteDance to sell TikTok in the US, recently expressed similar sentiments, claiming that banning TikTok would boost Meta whose Reels platform competes with TikTok directly. Chiu also added that removing TikTok would also hurt hundreds of thousands of American jobs, creators and small businesses.
[ad_2]
Source link
