SINGAPORE: After the House of Representatives voted to advance a bill on Wednesday (March 13) that could get TikTok banned in the United States, Shou Zi Chew, the tech giant’s Singaporean CEO, responded with a video on the platform, calling the potential ban “disappointing.
The bill states that if ByteDance, the app’s Chinese owner, does not sell TikTok to an entity that satisfies the US government, the ban could be implemented.
TikTok, which is arguably the most popular app in the world, especially with Millennials and Gen Z, is already banned for use by federal employees and state employees in 34 out of America’s 50 states as of last year, due to national security concerns.
Mr Shou’s response to the potential ban has already been viewed over 27 million times. In the video, he said that due to the misinformation that had been spread, he wanted to clarify a number of points. He started by saying “We have invested to keep your data safe and our platform free from outside manipulation. We have committed that we would continue to do so.”
He also underlined that the ban would put more than 300,000 American jobs at risk as well as “take away your TikTok.”
@tiktok
“We know how important TikTok is to all of you. It has given our 170 million users a platform to freely express themselves and has empowered more than 7 million businesses in the United States.”
He further added that many small business owners rely on the app to make ends meet, that many teachers use TikTok when they teach, and that people “find joy on TikTok.”
Read also: Should Singapore ban TikTok? Reddit users debate
The CEO assured app users that the company will continue to do all it can to fight against the ban “including exercising our legal rights to protect this amazing platform we have built with you.
Mr Shou went on to encourage TikTok users to share their stories, speak out against the ban, and make their “voices heard,” to the point of sharing their stories with their senators.
He is expected to pay US legislators a visit in the coming days to fight against the ban.
China has also responded to the potential ban, with its Foreign Ministry saying in a Mar 14 briefing, “The bill passed by the US House of Representatives puts the US on the opposite side of the principle of fair competition and international economic and trade rules.” /TISG
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