Law that requires its sale will be taken to court

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TikTok announced this Wednesday that will take to court the law passed by the United States Congress that forces ByteDancea Chinese technology conglomerate, sell the operations of the social network in the North American country or face a ban on operating.

“This unconstitutional law means a ban on TikTok and we will challenge it in court. “We believe that the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and that we will ultimately prevail,” TikTok said in a statement.

The company defended that it has “invested billions of dollars to keep the data safe” of Americans and that the social network is “free from external influences and manipulations.”

The fight between TikTok and the United States continues

TikTok also warned that a possible ban would “devastate” 7 million companies in the United States and “silence” 170 million Americans who use the social network.

“As we challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue to invest and innovate to ensure that TikTok remains a space where Americans from all walks of life can safely share their experiences, find joy and be inspired,” he noted.

The law, which was approved Tuesday night by Congress and proclaimed this Wednesday by US President Joe Biden, gives ByteDance 270 days to find an investor from a country that is not a “foreign adversary” to sell the company. .

A “national security” issue

During Donald Trump’s term (2017-2021), the White House tried to force the sale of TikTok’s US operations to an investor through executive means, but the courts stopped the operation based on the argument of the defense of the National security.

Back then, Microsoft showed interest and this year it was former Trump Administration Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin who said he has a group of investors ready to make a bid for the social network.

The text of the law gives the president the power to extend that period by another 90 days, so according to the law, within a year at most, TikTok would have to have passed into other hands.

Congressmen from both parties and officials in the Biden Administration claim that China can obtain information about users in the United States from ByteDance and use its influence over public opinion by manipulating what is seen in the application.

So far TikTok and ByteDance have indicated that they have no intention of selling the company and, in a recent statement, they stated that “the platform contributes US$24 billion annually to the United States economy” and 60% of its shares belong to investors. global institutions.