China has accused America of engaging in 'an act of bullying' by considering a potential ban on the short-form video hosting app, TikTok. Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that requires TikTok, owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, to be sold. Failure to do so might result in a ban on the app in the U.S.
Just like many other social media platforms, some people are concerned about TikTok's parent company, ByteDance gathering user data, as per a report by CNN. This has raised concerns about national security.
According to the proposed law, ByteDance would have six months to sell TikTok, or else it could be banned across the country. Even if the app does get banned in the U.S., it probably wouldn't vanish right away because ByteDance would likely try all possible legal ways to fight against the law first.
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President Biden has clearly stated that he'd sign the bill if it gets through the Senate, but it's uncertain whether a nationwide ban on the highly popular app would actually happen. Previous attempts to implement a nationwide ban on the app have been thwarted due to legal disputes and concerns regarding freedom of speech.
However, even if TikTok faces a potential ban in the country., it's likely that the more than 100 million current users would still manage to access it. New users might also resort to downloading it through virtual private networks, the report stated. Despite removal from app stores, experts are confident that TikTok fans in the U.S. would find ways to continue using the platform.
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