According to “Reuters” from sources close to the Chinese, the social network has a “crucial” algorithm and it is “unlikely” that the application will be sold
TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, prefers to end the app’s operations in the United States instead of selling it, if it exhausts all legal options to combat the platform’s ban in North American app stores.
According to sources close to the Chinese company interviewed by the international news agency Reuters this Thursday (April 25), the algorithms essential for TikTok’s operations are considered fundamental to ByteDance’s general operations, making “highly unlikely” the sale of the application.
According to the employees, who preferred to remain anonymous, the social network represents only a small part of ByteDance’s revenue and active daily users. Therefore, the owners prefer to close the application in the US rather than sell it, if necessary, as this would keep its main algorithm.
On Wednesday (April 25), Biden signed into law the bill that obliges ByteDance to sell TikTok in the USA within 1 year. If the social network is not managed regionally by a North American businessman, it will be banned in the country.
The measure was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on Saturday (20 April) and by the Senate on Tuesday (23 April). The decision was driven by suspicion among US authorities that China was using the platform to access the data of Americans and monitor them.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew stated that the social media platform will challenge the new law based on the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression.
“Do not fool yourself. This is a ban on TikTok, you and your voice […] It’s obviously a disappointing moment, but it doesn’t have to be decisive. In fact, it’s ironic because freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”he declared in a video published on the social network.
