Only America’s courts can save the video app now
only two months ago, with a video entitled “lol hey guys”. Now America’s president is poised to sign a bill that could ban the popular app. On April 23rd the Senate approved a measure to crack down on “foreign adversary controlled applications”, including TikTok, as part of a bill approvingto Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Mr Biden has already said he will sign the bill into law, whatever the feelings of his 300,000 followers, or TikTok’s 170m American users.
That would leave TikTok no choice but to shut down in America, where last year it had revenue of $16bn, according to the. So the company is pinning its hopes on an appeal to America’s courts. A memo sent to staff on April 21st described the new bill, then recently passed by the House of Representatives, as a “clear violation of First Amendment rights”, which enshrine freedom of speech.
Those in favour of a ban say the problem is not the content on TikTok, but the company’s conduct. It is accused of harvesting users’ data and manipulating what they see, both of which it denies. If courts can be persuaded that TikTok is up to no good, a free-speech defence will not necessarily save it.
Whatever happens in court, TikTok is already wondering which countries might follow America’s hawkish lead. India, where TikTok had 200m users, banned the app in 2020 following a skirmish at the border with China. Countries including Indonesia and Pakistan have imposed and then lifted short-term bans. The Taliban naturally outlawed TikTok on returning to power in Afghanistan.
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