Could Tik Tok be banned in the US?

The US senate voted to pass the bill to either ban Tik Tok in the US or force the parent Company, ByteDance to sell it. If ByteDance fails to sell its share in TikTok then the app will be deleted from any app stores on US devices.

When the legislation comes into force, President Joe Biden has agreed to sign.

Why do they want to ban TikTok?

US senators are concerned by the fact that ByteDance is controlled by the Chinese Government and worries over data being sold to them. As well as the 170 million US users being influenced by potential misinformation or propaganda.

The US Senators view TikTok as a security threat due to its high popularity and potential access from the Chinese Government.

Will TikTok fight the ban?

Michael Beckerman, the head of policy for the Americas has stated their desire to fight the legislation to ban the app in court. They argue that banning the app is an act against free speech.

According to the Guardian, the apps executive chief, Shou Zi Chew has also stated that the app has had no requests from the Chinese Government to access US user data and that this would be rejected.

 “Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”

In 2020, the former president Donal Trump also tried to ban the app which was a failed attempt. TikTok managed to secure a preliminary injunction against the move and plan to do so again if necessary.

Will ByteDance sell its shares?

Tik Tok has had massive success as a business and the algorithm makes the app what it is and bring the popularity to the app. It would be unlikely that they would sell for this aspect of the app.

Microsoft have previously expressed interests in making a deal to buy the app.

Will other countries ban Tik Tok?

The UK have also voiced concerns over security in regards to the app and already have the app banned from any government issued devices, Canada and New Zealand have done the same.