The threat of a ban on TikTok became clearer Thursday in the United States the day after the adoption by the American House of Representatives of a bill that asks the network to cut ties with China. This is a major development for the platform, although the outcome of the upcoming Senate vote remains uncertain.
Faced with this threat, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew called on his 170 million users in the United States to react massively. “Make yourself heard,” he said on TikTok and on the social network X after the vote, less than eight months before the November presidential election. “We will not stop defending you and we will continue to do everything in our power, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform we have built with you,” he added.
The leader also estimated that the law endangered “300,000 jobs” in the United States, threatening in particular to deprive “small businesses that depend on TikTok” of “billions of dollars” in revenue. TikTok has been in the crosshairs of American authorities for several months, with many officials believing that the short and entertaining video platform allows Beijing to spy on and manipulate citizens. The company has repeatedly denied having transmitted information to the Chinese authorities and assured that it would refuse any possible request in this regard.
A “secret” process
The text of the law, adopted by a large majority of 352 votes out of 432 elected officials, “does not ban TikTok,” argued the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries. “It aims to resolve legitimate national security and data protection issues related to the Chinese Communist Party’s relationship with a social network,” he explained.
“This process was carried out in secret and the text presented urgently for one reason: it is a ban,” reacted a TikTok spokesperson to AFP. “We hope that the Senate will take the facts into account, listen to its constituents and realize the impact (that a ban would have) on the economy.”
The vote “which brought together elected officials from both parties, shows Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy and manipulate Americans and is a sign of our determination to deter our enemies,” the Republican president said. of the House, Mike Johnson.
Beijing denounces Washington’s “thug methods”
China denounced “thug methods” on Thursday after a vote in the US Congress which reinforces a threat to ban the Chinese application TikTok in the United States, in the name of national security. “If a so-called pretext of national security can be used to arbitrarily exclude successful companies from other countries, then there is no more fairness and justice,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the ministry. of Foreign Affairs, adding: “When someone sees a good thing from another person and wants to take it from them, these are absolutely thug methods.”