Did TikTok just sign its death warrant in the United States?


TikTok may have just signed its death warrant in the United States. During his hearing with US senators on Capitol Hill, the app boss confirmed that some user data was being sent to China.

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This Thursday, March 23, 2023, the fate of TikTok is being played out in the American market. Because, app CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected at the Capitol to be heard by senators regarding the processing of US user data.

For several months, elected Americans have gone to war against the social network. They accuse him of being a threat to the country’s internal security, in particular by transferring users’ personal data to China. Some also fear that TikTok is being used by Beijing as a propaganda tool, while others point to its damaging effects on the mental health of younger people.

To prevent TikTok from being banned from American territory, the Biden administration has proposed to the Chinese shareholders of the app to sell their shares, preferably to American investors of course. A bad idea according to TikTok, which via its spokesperson said “that a change in ownership would not impose new restrictions on data flows or access”.

Also to read : TikTok spied on American journalists, it is almost over with the service in the United States

Has the boss of TikTok just signed the death warrant for the app in the USA?

Nevertheless, the boss of TikTok has just stretched the stick to get beaten… And for trigger quick app ban. Indeed, according to our colleagues at AFP, Shou Zi Chew confessed to American lawmakers that personal data was still accessed by some employees in China. An astonishing statement from the man who boasted a few hours earlier of the “safety of the app.

Anyway, this admission probably made the detractors of the social network happy, Cathy Rogers in the lead. The Republican chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee opened hostilities instantly at the start of the CEO’s hearing on Thursday: “TikTok has repeatedly chosen the path of more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation. Your platform must be banned”, she said.

In a vain attempt to qualify his remarks, the head of the social network promised that the data of American users would soon no longer be subject to Chinese legislation. At the same time, many TikTok influencers and protectors took to the Capitol to oppose the ban. As a reminder, the British Parliament has just banned TikTok on its devicesjust like the BBC.

Source: Barrons



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