TikTok calls on US users to 'make their voices heard' over bill

TikTok's chief executive has called on US users on the platform to 'make their voices heard', warning that the bill heading to the Senate would spell the end of TikTok in the US.

Shou Zi Chew points out in the video that seven million American companies partly depend on TikTok for their income and that there are 170 million users of the platform in the US. Moreover, a ban on TikTok would lead to more power for the other social media companies. Although Shou does not mention them, these include competitors such as Meta and Snap.

The bill does not directly ban TikTok. The bill, which has been given the working title Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications, states that it will be prohibited in the United States to distribute, maintain or update an app if a 'foreign adversary' controls that app and has a has a certain number of users. If the apps meet the established criteria, they must be divested from the parent company within 165 days. This can be done by selling the American branch. If that doesn't happen, the app will be banned in the United States. Parent company ByteDance had previously considered splitting off TikTok in the US.