TikTok will take legal action against the forced sale, which has been enforced by the US Congress and the Senate. “Rest assured – we’re not going anywhere,” CEO Shou Zi Chew declared in a video posted shortly after Biden signed the bill.
Parent company ByteDance has 270 days to transfer TikTok’s US assets, otherwise the app will be banned in the US. The deadline is January 19, 2025.
“We don’t want a ban,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. “This is about the ownership of the People’s Republic of China.”
In a statement that was also sent to the Dutch press, TikTok lists what is wrong with the ban.
For example, TikTok says it is not a Chinese organization and is not accountable to the Chinese government. ByteDance is 60 percent owned by mainly American investors; 20 percent owned by the founders, and the remaining 20 percent by employees.
‘TikTok is not banned in China. We have made the choice, like many other global tech companies, not to operate there due to local laws and regulations. Content on TikTok is driven by our users, not us, and not by governments. Allegations that we are a Chinese propaganda channel are completely unsubstantiated.”
