#ByteDance #chooses #block #TikTok #sell
Jakarta –
ByteDance, parent company TikTok, preferring that the short video application be blocked in the United States rather than be sold to another company, as a last option after taking legal action to challenge the law.
As is known, US President Joe Biden has just passed a law forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok if it wants to continue operating in the US. Otherwise, TikTok will be blocked on all app stores and hosting services in the US.
According to sources close to ByteDance, the algorithm that TikTok relies on to recommend content to users is considered critical to the company’s operations. Therefore, the option of selling TikTok along with its algorithm is very unlikely to happen.
The Information had reported that ByteDance was exploring the option of selling TikTok’s US business without its algorithm. However, in its post on Toutiao, ByteDance emphasized that it has no plans to sell TikTok.
The source said blocking TikTok in the US will have little impact on ByteDance’s business. TikTok currently has 170 million users in the US, compared to 1.5 billion users worldwide.
ByteDance does not publicly disclose its financial statements or its applications unit. A source claims that most of ByteDance’s revenue comes from China, especially from applications such as Douyin, which is the Chinese version of the TikTok application.
ByteDance will earn revenue of USD 120 billion in 2023, up from USD 80 billion in the previous year. Different sources claim the US contributed around 25% of TikTok’s total revenue last year, as quoted by , Friday (26/4/2024).
CEO TikTok Shou Zi Chew himself has announced his intention to fight this law through legal channels. Chew is also confident TikTok will win a legal challenge to block the law.
After the law was passed, ByteDance was given nine months to sell TikTok with a deadline of January 19, 2025. However, Biden could extend the deadline by up to three months if the TikTok divestment process shows progress.
(vmp/afr)
