TikTok CEO Shou Chew addressed users, urging them to "defend their constitutional rights" after the House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to a ban on the social network in the United States.
"We will not stop fighting and protecting you. We will continue to do everything we can, including using our legal rights, to protect this great platform we've built with you," Chew said in a video published on X.
He urged TikTok users in the United States to share their stories with friends, families, and senators to avoid the ban.
"This bill, if it becomes law, will lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States. Even the authors of the bill admit that this is their goal," Chew said.
Our CEO Shou Chew's response to the TikTok ban bill: pic.twitter.com/7AnDYOLD96
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) March 13, 2024
The bill, known as the "Protecting Americans from Programs Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act," passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support just days after it was introduced. If finalized, the law would force TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok to an American company within 6 months or be banned from app stores and web hosting in the United States.
In his appeal, Chew said that banning TikTok would give "more power to several other social media companies".
TikTok has previously appealed bans at the state level. Last year, TikTok sued Montana, which banned the app in the state. A federal judge temporarily blocked the ban in November before it went into effect.
