President Joe Biden signed a bill that would ban the ByteDance short form content app TikTok from the United States and now the company has a nine-month timeline to sell or face a ban in the United States.
Late on Tuesday, the Senate passed legislation via a 791-8 vote that could ban TikTok if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t divest from the platform. The earliest a TikTok ban could be officially implemented is January 2025, or it could land in April 2025 if a one-time extension is granted.
ByteDance has made it quite clear that they have no intentions of doing so and their CEO responded to the development today.
“Rest assured – we aren’t going anywhere,” CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted following the news that Biden signed the bill (h/t Reuters). “The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again.”
“Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” Chew said. “Politicians may say otherwise. But don’t get confused. Many who sponsored the bill admit a TikTok ban is their ultimate goal.”
“It’s obviously a disappointing moment, but it does not need to be a defining one,” Chew continued. “We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the U.S. Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.”