Chinese video sharing platform TikTok has released a public statement following it ban on Tuesday by the US government.
On Thursday, the White House issued an executive order that bans all US companies from doing business with TikTok.
The US government claimed that the increasing popularity of the Chinese app in the country posses security threat to the US.
The US government also accuses TikTok of spreading misinformation that might benefit the Chinese Communist Party, including conspiracy theories about the origin of the coronavirus.
TikTok isn’t the only Chinese company that the US has banned, the US has been targeting Chinese companies of recent.
Earlier this year US moved to blacklist Huawei another Chinese tech giant from accessing global chip supply.
Following the latest ban on TikTok by US the company has released the following statement:
TikTok is a community full of creativity and passion, a home that brings joy to families and meaningful careers to creators. And we are building this platform for the long term. TikTok will be here for many years to come.
We are shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without any due process. For nearly a year, we have sought to engage with the US government in good faith to provide a constructive solution to the concerns that have been expressed. What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.
We made clear our intentions to work with the appropriate officials to devise a solution to benefit our users, creators, partners, employees, and the broader community in the United States. There has been, and continues to be, no due process or adherence to the law.
The text of the decision makes it plain that there has been a reliance on unnamed “reports” with no citations, fears that the app “may be” used for misinformation campaigns with no substantiation of such fears, and concerns about the collection of data that is industry standard for thousands of mobile apps around the world.
We have made clear that TikTok has never shared user data with the Chinese government, nor censored content at its request. In fact, we make our moderation guidelines and algorithm source code available in our Transparency Center, which is a level of accountability no peer company has committed to. We even expressed our willingness to pursue a full sale of the US business to an American company.
This Executive Order risks undermining global businesses’ trust in the United States’ commitment to the rule of law, which has served as a magnet for investment and spurred decades of American economic growth. And it sets a dangerous precedent for the concept of free expression and open markets.
We will pursue all remedies available to us in order to ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and our users are treated fairly – if not by the Administration, then by the US courts.
We want the 100 million Americans who love our platform because it is your home for expression, entertainment, and connection to know: TikTok has never, and will never, waver in our commitment to you. We prioritize your safety, security, and the trust of our community – always. As TikTok users, creators, partners, and family, you have the right to express your opinions to your elected representatives, including the White House. You have the right to be heard.
Early this week Microsoft confirmed that they were negotiating ByteDance the company that owns TikTok to take over their market in US, Australia Canada and New Zealand.
While we wait to see if TikTok could reach agreement with US government to lift the ban other social media companies have been trying to take over the app market, Instagram has officially unveiled its clone version of TikTok known as Reels , while Snapchat has already added some of TikTok’s features to their platform. Some of the features added by Snapchat include navigation for public content and the latest feature which would now allow users to add musics to their recordings.
