April 25, 2024
BEIJING – TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, said it will go to court to challenge the legislation, which was signed by the United States President Joe Biden and requires ByteDance to sell its stake in the app or it will be blocked in the country.
“This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep US data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation,” TikTok said in a statement on Wednesday night.
“This ban would devastate 7 million businesses and silence 170 million Americans. As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired,” it added.
The legislation signed by Biden gives ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, with a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress.
The US Senate passed legislation on Tuesday requiring the popular social media app TikTok to be divested from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be shut out of the US market.
“Make no mistake, this is a ban. A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a two-minute video posted on the platform. “It’s obviously a disappointing moment but it does not need to be a defining one,” Chew said, adding “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.”
“We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the US Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.”