The United States is facing the possibility of banning TikTok, similar to what happened in India. TikTok quickly gained popularity in India, with 200 million users, before being banned in June 2020 due to tensions between India and China.
However, Indians adjusted quickly, and Instagram and YouTube built big audiences through reels and shorts.
Now, TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have filed a lawsuit challenging a new US law that threatens to ban the app unless it’s sold to an approved buyer.
They argue the law unfairly targets TikTok and violates free speech rights, as there’s no evidence that the platform poses a national security threat.
This legal battle marks the first time the US has targeted a social media company in this manner. The US is being accused of repression.
The law, signed by President Biden as part of a foreign aid package, requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to a US-approved buyer within nine months.
ByteDance claims it doesn’t plan to sell. It also asserts that even if it wanted to sell, gaining approval from Beijing, and separating TikTok’s US platform from its global operations, would be practically impossible.
On the other hand, some politicians support the law because they’re worried about ByteDance’s links to China and potential risks to national security.
