On Wednesday, TikTok CEO Shou Chew announced in a video posted on the app that the company will take legal action to stay online in the United States, following a ban issued by President Joe Biden. This ban includes a nine-month delay, giving TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance based in Beijing, the chance to sell the app before facing a national ban. Chew, who hails from Singapore, expressed confidence in the company’s ability to prevail in court and fight for users’ rights.
TikTok has a history of winning court cases related to bans. In 2020, a federal judge blocked an attempt by former President Donald Trump to ban the app in the United States, deeming it “arbitrary and capricious.” Similarly, in November, a federal judge in Montana ruled in favor of content creators who had sued to prevent a statewide ban on TikTok, citing infringement on users’ constitutional rights.
The debate surrounding TikTok’s future goes beyond free speech and social media, touching on issues of data security and foreign influence. Supporters of the ban argue that Chinese ownership of the app poses risks to U.S. users’ personal information, potentially enabling Chinese surveillance and manipulation of content. However, TikTok has stated that it stores data in the United States and denies claims of promoting propaganda.
The federal ban signed by Biden this Wednesday was part of a larger $95 billion national security package, which also included aid to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine. The outcome of TikTok’s legal battle in the United States will have implications for the future of social media, data privacy, and foreign influence online.