WASHINGTON – TikTok chief executive officer Chew Shou Zi told the app’s US users to speak out after the House of Representatives passed a Bill on March 13 that would force the company to sever ties with its Chinese owner or be banned in the United States.
“This Bill gives more power to a handful of social media companies. It will also take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses,” he said in a video posted on X and TikTok.
“It will put more than 300,000 American jobs at risk and it will take away your TikTok.
“We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you.
“We believe we can overcome this together... Protect your constitutional rights. Make your voices heard.”
The Bill, which gained momentum only in the past few days, requires TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell the app within 180 days or see it barred from the Apple and Google app stores in the US.
Lawmakers voted 352 in favour of the proposed law and 65 against in a rare moment of unity in politically divided Washington.
The legislation is a major setback for the video-sharing app, which has surged in popularity across the world while causing nervousness about its Chinese ownership and its potential subservience to the Communist Party in Beijing.
On March 14, China said the House vote was contrary to fair competition.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: “The Bill passed by the United States House of Representatives puts the United States on the opposite side of the principles of fair competition and international economic and trade rules.
“If so-called national security reasons can be used to wilfully suppress other countries’ superior companies, there would be no fairness to speak of.”
He added: “When someone sees a good thing another person has and tries to take it for themselves, this is entirely the logic of a bandit.”
On March 13, China had warned that the USmove will “inevitably come back to bite the United States”.
“Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens US national security, it has not stopped suppressing TikTok,” the foreign ministry’s Mr Wang had said, condemning it as “bullying behaviour”.
TikTok staunchly denies any ties to the Chinese government and has restructured the company so the data of US users stays in the country with independent oversight, the company said.
The fate of the US Bill is uncertain in the more cautious Senate, where some are apprehensive about making a drastic move against an app that has 170 million US users.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who will need to back the Bill, remained non-committal, saying only that the Senate “will review” the legislation when it comes over from the House.
President Joe Biden will sign the Bill, known officially as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, into law if it comes to his desk, the White House has said. AFP
