Commenting on the approval by the House of Representatives of the US Congress of a new bill to block TikTok, the management of the video service told employees that they would challenge the law in court if it was approved in the Senate and signed by the US President. Bloomberg reported this.
Challenging the Law
“Once the law is signed, we will challenge it in court,” Michael Beckerman, TikTok’s head of public policy for the Americas, said in a note to TikTok US employees. “We will continue to fight. This is the beginning, not the end, of this long process.” Despite the House’s decision, TikTok remains steadfast in its stance.
Legal Implications
The US House of Representatives previously passed a bill requiring Chinese ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell its stake in the video service within nine months. The sale period can be extended up to a year. Otherwise, TikTok will be blocked in the US, which is one of the video service’s most profitable market outside of China, notes NIX Solutions. TikTok has more than 170 million users in the US.
Beckerman said the law is a “clear violation” of the First Amendment, which protects the rights of TikTok’s 170 million American users, and would have “devastating consequences” for the 7 million small businesses that operate and grow their businesses on the short-form video platform.
We’ll keep you updated as this legal battle unfolds.