'We aren't going anywhere' - TikTok vows court fight as new US law threatens to ban it

TikTok has promised a court battle over a new law that threatens to ban it in the US – with the app’s boss saying “we aren’t going anywhere”.

President Joe Biden approved the law that states the platform will be blocked if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell it within nine months.

US politicians are worried the company could share user data with the Chinese government, despite repeated assurances from TikTok that it would not.

The bill was approved by the Senate on Tuesday as part of a $95bn (£76.2bn) aid package for Ukraine and Israel.

Mr Biden signed it off early on Wednesday – with TikTok’s boss swiftly hitting back in a video on the platform.

“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again,” said chief executive Shou Zi Chew.

A statement by the company added: “This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court.

“We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail.”

The legal challenge could argue a ban would deprive the app’s 170 million US users of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.

The law could also face opposition from TikTok creators who rely on it for their income, while China has previously said it would oppose a forced sale.

Technology correspondent

Attracting around 170 million US users in seven years, TikTok has taken America by storm. But there have long been concerns in Washington about the China-based ownership of the social media platform.

Beijing-based tech firm ByteDance originally launched the Chinese version of the app called Douyin, meaning “shaking sound”, in 2016. They followed up with an international version – TikTok – in November 2017.

Since then, the platform has had a meteoric rise. Fuelled by its popularity among Gen-Z, it has become an influential social media platform. But it has become a target for both sides of the political spectrum in Washington, as well as in other Western countries, due to fears over the use of user data.

Politicians and officials in the US have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over US user data. TikTok has said it has never done that and would not do so if asked. There are also fears over influence on Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content on TikTok.

The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes. A similar ban is also in place for civil servants in the UK.

India was the first country to ban TikTok in 2020 following a violent clash on the India-China border that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Interestingly, TikTok is also not available in app stores in China – where the internet is tightly controlled by the state – and Douyin is used instead.

Last month, TikTok’s chief executive appealed to US users directly to stop the bill forcing the app’s sale and accused lawmakers in the US of attempting to shut down the platform. In a video posted on the platform, Shou zi Chew told users the bill “will lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States”, adding: “Even the bill’s sponsors admit that’s their goal.”

The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US.

However, there are limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes.

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Senate commerce committee chair Maria Cantwell said the move to force TikTok’s sale was not aimed at “punishing” ByteDance, TikTok, or other companies.

“Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our US government personnel,” she said.

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