- On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass the bill giving ByteDance about six months to sell the U.S. assets of the app or face a ban.
- TikTok alerts U.S. users to urge senators against the ban bill without divestment.
OUR TAKE
The demand for ByteDance to divest TikTok reflects heightened concerns over national security and data privacy, amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
This move shows the growing scrutiny and regulatory challenges faced by tech companies operating in global markets, particularly those with significant user data and international influence.
Around 170 million Americans are using TikTok, if TikTok does pull out of the U.S. market, it will be a big blow to those who profit off of it.
-Jennifer YU, BTW reporter
TikTok displayed a notification to some U.S. users on Friday, urging them to call their senators and ask them to vote no to a bill that would ban the popular short-form video app if it is not divested from Chinese tech company ByteDance.
Messages from TikTok
“Tell your Senator how important TikTok is to you. Ask them to vote no on the TikTok ban,” “Now, if the Senate votes, the future of creativity and communities you love on TikTok could be shut down,” according to the notice,
“We’ll continue informing our community about how the ban bill will affect them and what they can do to make their voices heard,” a TikTok spokesperson said, adding the alert is only being served to users of voting age.
The alert was displayed when some people opened the app, and it also appeared when users searched “TikTok ban.”
Also read: Italy regulator fines TikTok US$11 million for ‘French scar challenge’
Previous background
On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass the bill giving ByteDance about six months to sell the U.S. assets of the app or face a ban.
The White House said the Senate should take “swift action,” and President Joe Biden said he would sign the bill.
