TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is confident that his company will emerge victorious in the ongoing legal battle to prevent its operations in the US. In a video posted on the platform, Chew expressed his optimism, stating that the company believes the truth and the Constitution are on its side. He added that TikTok is not going anywhere and looks forward to winning against current legal challenges.
Recently, US President Joe Biden signed a new law that prohibits TikTok from operating in the US, a market with over 170 million users. Under the new law, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has 270 days to transfer all its assets to the US. Failure to do so will result in a complete ban on TikTok’s operations in the country.
The law stipulates that TikTok must be transferred to another business by January 19, 2025. This deadline is just a day away from the end of Mr. Biden’s current presidential term. However, the White House has the right to extend this deadline for another three months if ByteDance is in the process of negotiating a sale.
The ban on TikTok is related to concerns about national security, as US lawmakers are worried that China could access US user data or use it for malicious purposes. The battle between TikTok and the US has been ongoing for the past four years and is part of the wider “war on the internet and technology” between Washington and Beijing.
Many experts are now speculating about whether any potential investors have the financial resources to buy TikTok and whether both the Chinese and US governments will approve of such a sale. Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump, who was prevented by the court from enforcing a ban on TikTok and another Chinese business, WeChat, throughout the US, is calling on voters to pay attention to the issue.