As his firm prepares legal action against its forced sale in the United States, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has taken a strong stance against the law.
TikTok issued a brief statement to the “unconstitutional ban,” after President Biden signed the necessary legislation (along with a number of other measures) into law yesterday. According to the text of the statute, TikTok parent company ByteDance now has around nine months, with a possible three-month extension, to divest from or shut down the video-sharing app in the United States.
Predictably, TikTok, rather than passively accepting the situation, has underlined plans to oppose the law in court, as well as the hope that it “will ultimately prevail.” Not stopping there, the company’s CEO issued a lengthy video message, as previously said, discussing everything from the platform’s purported data-security efforts to the potential consequences of a ban.
“Rest assured,” the Singapore-born executive said, “we’re not going anywhere. We are confident and will continue to fight for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we hope to win again.
Despite the possibility of a ban, TikTok is largely operating as usual.
READ MORE: TikTok Warns That US Ban Will ‘Trample Free Expression’
Today, the site announced a new “Global Music Newsletter,” which is characterized as a “new monthly look at the songs and artists from around the world trending on TikTok.” Among other things, the newsletter noted the 1.5 million “Add to Music App” uses that Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department received during its first two days of availability to fans.
On the other side of the issue, TikTok’s high-profile users are primarily using the app as usual. Despite its unclear future in the United States, as well as its music business controversy, the service remains an important promotional tool for artists such as Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, both of whom have mentioned upcoming albums in their biographies.
President Biden’s official campaign account remains active on TikTok, demonstrating the platform’s influence, particularly among younger demographics. Having recently posted yesterday, this account is, naturally, bombarded with comments from irritated TikTokers furious over the forced-sale bill.
Here are the full remarks made by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew regarding the legislation’s approval.
READ MORE: US Congress Presses Ahead With Bill To Pressure TikTok’s Chinese Owner To Sell
“Hello everyone. It’s Shou here. As you may have heard, Congress enacted a measure, which the president signed into law, to prohibit TikTok in the US.
That will take TikTok away from you and the 170 million Americans who use our platform for community and connection. Make no mistake: this is a ban—both on TikTok and on you and your voice. Politicians may say otherwise, but don’t be confused. Many of the bill’s sponsors confess that banning TikTok is their ultimate goal.
It’s clearly a disappointing moment, but it doesn’t have to be the defining one. It’s ironic, because TikTok’s freedom of expression supports the same American principles that made the United States a beacon of liberty.
TikTok provides regular Americans with a strong platform for being seen and heard, which is why so many people use it on a daily basis. Rest assured that we are not going anywhere. We are confident and will continue to fight for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we hope to win again.
Our community is full of people who have found acceptance and compassion, been inspired and encouraged, raised their knowledge and enlarged their perspectives, bringing more excitement and joy into their life. Our community also includes seven million entrepreneurs who have developed their businesses on TikTok.
While we make our case in court, you can continue to use TikTok as usual. In fact, if you have a story about how TikTok has affected your life, we’d love for you to share it so that we can highlight exactly what we’re fighting for.
Meanwhile, we will continue to invest and innovate to ensure that our community remains dynamic, exciting, and safe. We have created protections for data security in the United States that no other peer company has implemented. We have spent billions of dollars to secure your data and protect our platform from outside tampering.
I can’t say it enough: TikTok’s wonderful, diverse community is what makes it so unique, important, and valuable. And we will continue to work to guarantee that you always have the ability, safety, and freedom to experience everything TikTok has to offer. “Thank you.”
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