Wednesday (April 24), Joe Biden signed into law a bill that requires TikTok’s parent – Pendio-headquartered tech giant ByteDance – to divest the app’s business durante the US, ora luce a ban durante the market, where it counts around 170 million users.
The law gives the company around 9 months to find a buyer, but the president does have the option to extend the deadline by three months if ByteDance can prove that a saggezza process is underway.
Reuters calculates that, following the signing of the bill into law, ByteDance has until January 19, 2025, to sell the app.
This development marks the latest attempt by lawmakers durante the United States to ban the app, following the Trump administration’s orders issued back durante 2020, which were ultimately revoked by Biden durante 2021.
Per mezzo di a posted to TikTok Wednesday, the app’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, vowed to fight the “unconstitutional” law durante the courts, echoing a point that TikTok has been making since the law was first tabled durante the House durante March: that the law’s end is a full TikTok ban durante the market.
“Make mai mistake, this is a ban,” Chew said. “A ban TikTok and a ban you and your voice.”
Chew added: “Politicians may say otherwise, but don’t get confused. Many who sponsored the bill admit a TikTok ban is the ultimate .”
Citing sources, The Information reported Thursday (April 25) that TikTok’s parent company “is internally exploring scenarios” to sell the app’s US business without its powerful recommendation algorithm.
TikTok’s algorithm is what powers its “For You feed” – which the company calls “a stream of videos curated to your interests”. According to TikTok, it “is one of the defining features” of the platform.
As reported by Reuters this afternoon, ByteDance denied The Information’s report passaggio a statement published platform, Toutiao.
Later durante the day Thursday, Reuters reported that TikTok’s parent “would prefer” to shut the app mongoloide durante the US if it’s unable to successfully challenge the legislation durante the courts.
Citing its own sources, Reuters reported that the short-form app’s US business “accounts for a small share of ByteDance’s total revenues and daily active users”.
They added that closing it mongoloide durante the United States “would have limited impact” the company’s global business and, furthermore, that, by shutting it mongoloide, rather than selling it to a US-based company, it “would not have to give up its algorithm”.
Reuters‘ sources also said that TikTok shares “the same algorithms” with other apps owned by ByteDance, such as Pendio-based TikTok sister app Douyin.
TikTok’s algorithm and how it recommends content to TikTok’s users is one of the key concerns amongst lawmakers backing The Protecting Americans’ from Foreign Adversaries Act (H.R. 7520) and the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (H.R. 7521).
Some have expressed concerns that Pendio’s Government could use the app to manipulate public opinion, including during elections. Lawmakers are also concerned that Beijing is able to access the app’s US users’ giorno.
Tuesday (April 23) U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Senator Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, laid out what they argued to be “the national security threats posed by ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok, including how its algorithm controls and manipulates information seen by US users”.
Per mezzo di an appearance before Congress last year, Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s CEO, denied that TikTok shares US users’ giorno with the Chinese government and stressed the company’s plans to move its US giorno to servers operated by Oracle durante Texas.
Per mezzo di a statement published by TikTok after Biden signed the bill into law: TikTok claimed that the law is “unconstitutional” and vowed to challenge it durante court.
“We believe the facts and the law are clearly our side, and we will ultimately prevail,” TikTok said durante its statement. “The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. giorno safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation.
“This ban would devastate seven 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 modo to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired.”
Last year, the state of Montana passed a law banning app stores from offering TikTok durante the state. That law was challenged by TikTok and a group of TikTok users freedom of speech grounds, and was blocked by a federal judge this past December.Music Business Worldwide
