TECH - TikTok Ban: China Has The Power To Block Sale Gains Leverage Over Washington | Benzinga
Last week, the House of Representatives moved forward on a bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it is sold by its owner ByteDance Ltd.
The move has already faced rejection from Beijing and is risking adding yet another complication to the already unstable relationship between the world's two largest economies.
The TikTok Bill, Explained
TikTok, the popular short-video social media app used by more than 170 million Americans is facing scrutiny in Congress over concerns that ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, could comply with the Chinese government in actions liable to undermine national security.
The bill cleared the House with ease on Wednesday, but its passage received strong criticism from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who warned that banning TikTok could put “more than 300,000 jobs” in the U.S. at risk.
If the bill passes in the Senate, ByteDance will be given the option to sell its U.S. operations or face a shutdown. In recent days, several prospective buyers came out to announce their interest, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.
Analysts expect competitor companies in the social media space to benefit in the event of a TikTok ban. These include Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), as U.S. users would naturally move to other platforms offering similar products.
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