The business has referred to the law as “unconstitutional.”
The bill that will compel TikTok to be sold or banned in the US is now law. One day after the Senate enacted the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” President Joe Biden signed a bundle of acts related to foreign aid.
TikTok announced in a statement that it will contest the law in court, potentially delaying a sale or prohibition. “We will fight this unconstitutional law in court, as it is a TikTok ban,” the company declared. “We think the law and the facts plainly favour us, and we will win in the end. In actuality, we have spent billions of dollars protecting American data and ensuring that outside influence and manipulation cannot affect our platform. 170 million Americans would be silenced and seven million enterprises would be destroyed by this ban.
According to the law, China-based ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has up to a year to sell the app to a new owner. TikTok’s access to US app stores and web hosting services will be restricted if the business decides not to divest.
The “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” in contrast to earlier attempts to compel the app’s sale or restriction, enjoyed resounding bipartisan support and passed Congress remarkably quickly. Shortly after being proposed, the bill’s original form, which stipulated a six-month timeframe for divesting, was approved by the House in March. Over the weekend, an amended version was passed that permits a divestment to take place up to a year in advance.
CEO Shou Chew described it as a “disappointing moment” for the company in a TikTok video. He declared, “This is a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice, make no mistake about it.” “It’s actually ironic because the American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom are reflected in the freedom of expression on TikTok.”