Over the weekend, Tiktok reiterated its worries regarding free speech in relation to a bill approved by the House of Representatives. The bill would prohibit the well-liked social media platform in the United States unless the Chinese company ByteDance sold its ownership share within a year.
The legislation was approved by a significant margin of 360 to 58 in the House. Currently, it is set to proceed to the Senate where it may undergo voting in the upcoming days. President Joe Biden has expressed his intention to endorse the legislation concerning TikTok.
Numerous US lawmakers, including those from the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as the Biden administration, have voiced concerns about the potential national security threats posed by TikTok. They believe that China could potentially force the company to disclose the data of its 170 million American users.
Integrating TikTok into a comprehensive international assistance program could accelerate the schedule for a potential prohibition following the delay of previous standalone legislation in the Senate.
“Unfortunately, the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans,” TikTok said.
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TikTok in February had criticized the original bill that ultimately stalled in the Senate, saying that it would “censor millions of Americans”. It had similarly argued that a state ban on TikTok in Montana passed last year was a violation of the First Amendment.
A spokesman for TikTok denounced the bill, saying it “would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24bn (£19.4bn) to the US economy annually”.
TikTok has said ByteDance “is not an agent of China or any other country”. And ByteDance insists it is not a Chinese firm, pointing to the many global investment firms that own 60% of it.
The US House of Representatives passed a resolution in March, stipulating that ByteDance must sell TikTok to non-Chinese owners within six months or face the possibility of the app being blocked in the US. However, this bill is still awaiting approval from the Senate.
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Founded in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneurs, ByteDance first hit the jackpot with short video app Douyin in China. A year later, it launched TikTok, an international version.
The social media app was banned in China but gained a billion users in five years.
The company is currently operated by a limited liability company headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, although it is primarily possessed by ByteDance.
Even though the creators hold just 20% of ByteDance, they have the majority stake in the business. Approximately 60% is in the possession of institutional investors, which includes prominent US investment companies like General Atlantic, Susquehanna, and Sequoia Capital.
The remaining 20% is held by employees globally. Out of the five board members, three are American.
Italy Also Fines Tiktok €10 Million Amid U.S Ban Moves
The Italian Competition Authority imposed a €10 million fine on TikTok for its failure to safeguard users from the dangerous French Scar Challenge game.
This development coincides with the efforts of U.S. legislators to cut off the connection between TikTok and its Chinese parent company, Bytedance. Should this effort fail, the social media platform faces the risk of being prohibited.
The Italian authority said TikTok failed to implement appropriate mechanisms to monitor content published on the platform, particularly those that may threaten the safety of minors and vulnerable individuals.
“Moreover, this content is systematically re-proposed to users as a result of their algorithmic profiling, stimulating an ever-increasing use of the social network,” the Authority said.
Indicating that the fine is imposed on TikTok as a company and its owners, Bytedance, the Competition Authority in a statement announcing the fine said:
- “The Italian Competition Authority has imposed a fine of EUR 10 million jointly and severally on three companies of the Bytedance Ltd group, namely the Irish TikTok Technology Limited, the British TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited, and the Italian TikTok Italy Srl.
- “The investigation has allowed us to ascertain the responsibility of TikTok in the dissemination of content – such as those related to the “French scar” challenge – likely to threaten the psycho-physical safety of users, especially if minor and vulnerable.”
The Authority added that TikTok has not taken adequate measures to prevent the dissemination of such content, not fully complying with the Guidelines it has adopted and which it has made known to consumers by reassuring them that the platform is a ‘safe’ space.
