TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has declared that the popular short video app "isn't going anywhere" despite President Joe Biden signing legislation that could potentially ban the app in the United States. The new law, signed on Wednesday, gives China-based ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, 270 days to divest the app's U.S. assets or face a nationwide ban.
In a video posted to the platform shortly after Biden signed the bill, Chew assured TikTok's 170 million American users that the company expects to win a legal challenge to block the legislation. "Rest assured - we aren't going anywhere," he said. "The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again."
The signing of the bill sets a January 19 deadline for a sale, just one day before Biden's term is set to expire. However, the president could extend the deadline by three months if he determines that ByteDance is making progress in divesting the app.
The White House has stated that it does not want to see a ban on TikTok, with spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre emphasizing that the issue is about "PRC ownership," referring to the People's Republic of China.
The battle over TikTok's future in the U.S. has been ongoing for four years, with lawmakers expressing concerns that China could access Americans' data or surveil them through the app. The legislation passed overwhelmingly in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, reflecting the widespread worry among U.S. lawmakers.
Chew, in his video message, characterized the legislation as a "ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice," urging users to share their stories about how the app impacts their lives to showcase what the company is fighting for. He also expressed confidence that TikTok will continue to operate as the company challenges the restrictions in court.
Many experts, however, question whether any potential buyer has the financial resources to purchase TikTok and if both the Chinese and U.S. governments would approve such a sale. The legislation is likely to give the Biden administration a stronger legal footing to ban TikTok if ByteDance fails to divest the app, according to experts.
If ByteDance does not divest TikTok, app stores operated by Apple, Google, and others could not legally offer the app or provide web hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications or TikTok's website.
Senator Laphonza Butler, a California Democrat, urged the White House to consider the fate of TikTok's 8,000 U.S. employees, many of whom are based in New York or California. "We must acknowledge the impact on TikTok workers, and our local economies, as we determine a path forward," Butler said in a letter to Biden.
The legislation also provides the White House with new tools to ban or force the sale of other foreign-owned apps it deems to be security threats, raising concerns among some lawmakers, like Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, about the potential for abuse by future administrations to violate Americans' First Amendment rights.
