The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, invited American users to mobilize to protect the popular video sharing platform owned by the Chinese ByteDance in the name of constitutional rights, after the House of Representatives yesterday approved a bill that it would force the company to sever ties with its owner in Beijing or be banned in the United States.
«We believe we can overcome this situation together. Protect your constitutional rights. Make your voice heard,” Shou said in a video message published on X, Elon Musk's platform.
Approved by the US House with a solid bipartisan majority (352 votes in favor and 65 against), the bill now passes to the Senate where its fate is uncertain given that some fear a drastic move against a popular app that has 170 million of users in the United States. President Joe Biden has already made it known that he will sign the law under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, if the text reaches his desk, according to the White House.
The measure, which has gained momentum in recent days, requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app within 180 days or see it banned from Apple and Google's app stores in the United States. It also gives the US president the power to designate other applications as a national security threat if they are under the control of a country considered an adversary of the United States.
(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)
