They demand that he sever his ties with the parent company ByteDance and with China in general
Twenty US congressmen, Republicans and Democrats, announced today that they want to advance a bill that would ban in the US the TikTokas long as it does not cut its ties with the parent company ByteDance and, in general, with China.
“We came together, ten Democrats and ten Republicans, to introduce a bill that would ban TikTok from operating in USA, as long as it does not cut its ties to ByteDance or any entity controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, said the Republican congressman, chairman of a committee responsible for ChinaMike Gallagher. His Democratic colleague Raja Krishnamurthy assured that “this is not a ban” saying that “the ball is in the court of ByteDance or any other platform application that is owned” by a foreign state.
According to Krishnamurthy, “ByteDance has repeatedly used the TikTok platform to undermine not only US national security but also the interests of its users,” adding that evidence of the parent company’s ties to the Chinese military is real. .
“We’re asking ByteDance to sell TikTok so that American users can continue to benefit” from the app, and at the same time, lawmakers want users to “tell ByteDance to sell the platform,” he added.
When asked by AFP, a spokesperson for the platform said the law “is clearly a ban on TikTok, however much its editors try to hide it.”
“The law tramples on the First Amendment (of the US Constitution, which covers freedom of expression) for 170 million Americans and will deprive five million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs” , he argued.
Contrary to the EIA, several states and the federal government have banned the use of the app on official devices of public employees, citing national security risks. In Montana, a judge recently blocked a local initiative that aimed to ban the app entirely.
Many US officials believe that TikTok, this short video platform, is helping Beijing spy on and manipulate 150 US users. The company denies the charges.
