TikTok is a famous and widely used social media platform owned by the parent company ByteDance. ByteDance, founded in 2012 in Beijing, has offices in the United States and Europe and is registered in the Cayman Islands.
Let’s read the news and find out why TikTok is banned.
House passes bill that could ban TikTok in the United States
Wednesday, the United States House of Representatives has passed a bill that could ban TikTok in the United States.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 352 to 65. Fifty Democrats and fifteen Republicans voted against the bill.
Even though the bill passed with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats, it still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president.
President Joe Biden has said he would sign the law if it reaches his desk. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the chamber would consider the bill.
Supporters of the bill have expressed concern that TikTok could significantly threaten national security because the Chinese government could use its intelligence laws to force ByteDance to hand over U.S. user data.
In China, a national security law requires Chinese companies to provide data to the government upon request.
A Wall Street Journal investigation in January also found that data was still being transferred unofficially between ByteDance in China and TikTok in the United States, making the system “porous.”
To convince regulators, TikTok has taken steps to ensure that the data of 150 million US customers stays away from ByteDance employees in China.
Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s CEO, said the company was committed to keeping the platform “free from outside manipulation” and ensuring data security.
ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of social media platform TikTok, has been given six months to sell its majority stake in the app or face its blocking in the United States.
TikTok, a social network used by more than 170 million Americans, is not separate from ByteDance; the bill would ban it from US app stores.
Under the bill, ByteDance would have about five months to sell TikTok.
If it does not opt out before the deadline, app store operators, such as Apple and Google, will not be allowed to distribute it for download.
Antitrust experts say TikTok may have difficulty finding a buyer that would be accepted by U.S. competition regulators.
Beijing has also pledged to oppose a forced sale, for which ByteDance would need the approval of Chinese authorities.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: “Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens American national security, it has not stopped removing TikTok. »
“This type of bullying behavior, which does not allow winning in fair competition, disrupts the normal business activity of enterprises, undermines the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and undermines the normal international economic and commercial order. »
We also need to know that even if ByteDance gets approval to sell its stake in TikTok, it’s questionable whether competing companies will have the capital to bid on the app.
The company previously valued the app at around $268 billion; it is assumed that the cost could scare off investors. At the same time, it is also believed that a potential buyer could be present in the market.
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