SAN FRANCISCO: TikTok’s CEO vowed Wednesday (Apr 24) to fight in the courts to overturn a newly signed US law that could see the popular app banned due to allegations it is controlled by the China government.
The legislation gives TikTok nine months to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be shut out of the American market.
US and other Western officials have alleged the social media platform allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. It has 170 million users in the United States alone, many of them young.
Critics say TikTok is also a conduit to spread propaganda. China and the company strongly deny the claims.
“Make no mistake, this is a ban. A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted on TikTok moments after President Joe Biden signed the bill into law.
