TikTok Vows To Fight New US Law In Court: “Make No Mistake, This Is A Ban

TikTok has been under scrutiny by American authorities for years. Legislation now requires TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance within nine months, or face being excluded from the American market. Critics claim that TikTok enables Beijing to gather data and spy on its users, with 170 million users in the United States, many of whom are young.

Additionally, there are allegations that TikTok serves as a vehicle for spreading propaganda. China and ByteDance strongly deny these claims, while opponents of the platform argue that a ban is the ultimate goal despite politicians’ statements to the contrary. Adam Chew, a TikTok spokesperson, criticized the move as “ironic”, stressed that the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects American values, and reassured users that the platform will continue to fight for their rights in the courts.

The bill, which passed with strong bipartisan support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, could lead to the rare step of barring a company from operating in the US market. Under the bill’s provisions, ByteDance would need to sell the app or face exclusion from the Apple and Google app stores in the United States. Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), recently voiced his opposition to banning TikTok, citing concerns about freedom of speech and expression.

This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.