Hours after the Home handed a invoice that might ban TikTok in america, Shou Chew, the corporate’s CEO urged customers to “defend your constitutional rights.” Chew additionally implied that TikTok would mount a authorized problem if the invoice is handed into legislation.
“We is not going to cease combating and advocating for you,” Chew mentioned in a video posted to X. “We are going to proceed to do all we will together with exercising our authorized rights to guard this wonderful platform that we’ve constructed with you.” He additionally requested TikTok customers within the US to share their tales with associates, households, and senators. “This laws, if handed into legislation, will result in a ban of TikTok in america,” Chew mentioned. “Even the invoice’s sponsors admit that’s their aim.”
The invoice, often known as the “Defending Individuals from International Adversary Managed Purposes Act” handed the Home on Wednesday with bipartisan assist simply days after it was launched. Ought to the invoice move into legislation, it might pressure TikTok’s guardian firm ByteDance, a Chinese language company, to promote TikTok to a US firm inside six months, or be banned from US app shops and website hosting companies. TikTok has challenged state-level bans up to now. Final yr, TikTok sued Montana, which banned the app within the state. A federal choose quickly blocked that ban in November earlier than it went into impact.
Final week, TikTok despatched push notifications to the app’s greater than 170 million customers within the US urging them to name their representatives in regards to the potential ban. “Communicate up now — earlier than your authorities strips 170 million Individuals of their Constitutional proper to free expression,” the notification mentioned. The wave of notifications reportedly led to Home staffers being inundated with calls from excessive schoolers asking what a Congressman is. Lawmakers criticized the corporate they perceived as attempting to “intrude” with the legislative course of.
In his attraction, Chew mentioned that banning TikTok would give “extra energy to a handful of different social media corporations.” Former President Donald Trump, who as soon as tried to pressure ByteDance to promote TikTok within the US, lately expressed an identical sentiment, claiming that banning TikTok would strengthen Meta whose platform, Reels, competes with TikTok immediately. Chew additionally added that taking TikTok away would additionally harm tons of of hundreds of American jobs, creators, and small companies.