TikTok is on its way to being banned in the US, and the company is doing its best to protect itself rather than surrender to the challenge. A law restricting the use of the social media app passed the House in just hours, only to be partially blocked by the app’s CEO Shaw Chew, who posted a speech on the platform itself asking users for their choice and Called for defending “constitutional rights”.
Chew’s message is clear: banning TikTok restricts freedom without any alternative. He assured its users that the entity would take legal action if needed and on the other hand, he called for the mobilization of people’s power. Targets of attack include not just friends or family but senators and even large-scale government bodies that wield invaluable influence.
Our CEO Shou Chew’s response to the TikTok ban bill: pic.twitter.com/7AnDYOLD96
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) March 13, 2024
This isn’t the first hurdle in the way of TikTok’s progress in trying to be as free as possible. The app skillfully fought off a ban passed in Montana last year, proving it knows where to draw the line. Although the current law represents a huge leap forward, the new law brings new challenges along the way. For this, the Chinese owner of TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance will have to sell the app to the US entity within six months, otherwise, a ban on the app seems inevitable.
They could reverse the diversification of cultures and languages that have made the world a vibrant place. They may keep us in a stagnant existence, confined to the limits of what we have achieved so far. They can completely bypass our limitations of technology.
According to politicians, it will be taken as a national security measure, but opponents believe that it will be a boon for the United States’ democratic social media networks. Shum raised the same concerns and suggested that the ban would benefit companies like Meta, whose program called “Reels,” which is essentially a competitor to TikTok. On top of all this, many amazing artists, small businesses, and makers will be left out.
The limit is defined against nature. Now being the most popular, TikTok has united its active users, while the campaign for the ban has even scared former President Trump. Quite paradoxically, measures taken by the new Trump administration reduced the strength of META. Jobs and freedom of speech are at stake in TikTok’s situation in the US as the app’s future remains uncertain.
