There are major changes that could be on the way for TikTok, the popular video-sharing social media platform. President Biden signed into law a $95 billion plan to deliver aid to Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel. In addition, he mandated that ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, must sell its application or be banned in the United States.
As of the time of this post, ByteDance now has nine months to divest from its American subsidiary (with a further extension of three months if a deal is in the works but not finished). This means there is no immediate threat of a ban anytime soon. Yet, legal battles could lead to more changes.
Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, posted a video on the platform, saying “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere…Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on TikTok, and a ban on you and your voice. Politicians may say otherwise. But don’t get confused. TikTok gives everyday Americans a powerful way to be seen and heard.”
TikTok has over 170 million users in America, according to ByteDance. Fortunately, for those who love using it and have the app installed on their phone, it will continue to work normally and any potential ban will not go into effect anytime soon.
This legal battle is happening under the belief by US lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum that TikTok poses a threat to national security. For years, TikTok has refuted that the app is not a secret mechanism of the Chinese government nor does it share any data from users, according to AP.
Microsoft had plans in 2020 to purchase TikTok but later backed out of its plans. In recent times, it was discovered that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was putting together a team to explore buying TikTok.
