TikTok classifies US ban as ‘unconstitutional’ and says it will appeal Biden’s decision

After the U.S pass a law that may prohibit the use of TikTok in the country, and the Chinese company issued a statement and said it would appeal and classified the decision as unconstitutional. TikTok warned that the ban would “devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans,” and accused the decision of being unfair because the company claims to invest billions of dollars to keep Americans’ data safe and the platform free from outside manipulation. . The platform also faces scrutiny on the other side of the Atlantic, in the European Union, after it launched a rewards program that was accused by the European Commission of causing addiction. Following the repercussions, TikTok said it will suspend reward functions on TikTok Lite.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, signed a bill this Wednesday (24) that bans TikTok in the country, unless the company that owns ByteDance gets rid of the application within nine months. The measure was approved by Congress on Tuesday (23). TikTok is very popular among young Americans, a crucial group for Biden in the November elections against Donald Trump. Additionally, the bill gives the US president the power to classify other applications as threats to national security if they are from countries considered hostile.

The bill prevents the company from controlling TikTok’s secret sauce: the algorithm that powers users’ videos based on their interests and that has turned the platform into a trend-setting phenomenon. The move – which has broad bipartisan support – represents the most significant threat to date to the app’s operations in the United States, where it has more than 170 million users and has become an economic and cultural powerhouse. Lawmakers pushing for the restriction cited concerns that the company’s ownership structure could allow the Chinese government to gain access to Americans’ data, claims TikTok disputes.