struggle for survival

The company’s motivation is very simple: the desire to stay in the country. As support grows in Congress for a bill that would effectively ban TikTok for all users in the US, the video platform is trying to garner support from its audience to influence lawmakers.

Push notifications were sent to all US users on Wednesday. In it, the company warns: “Congress Plans to Completely Ban TikTok”and that “It will deprive 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of expression.”. The statement also stated that the ban “It will harm millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deprive artists of audiences.”. The developers also provided information on how users can find their representatives and call their offices.

Notifications from TikTok / Screenshot from The Verge

The message appeared shortly after The White House backs a bipartisan bill targeting TikTokIt is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act is a response to perceived national security risks related to TikTok’s activities, particularly the way the company collects user data. The bill requires TikTok to cut ties with ByteDance or risk being blocked in the US and removed from app stores.

This isn’t the first attempt to ban a Chinese service. Been accused of this for a long time It leaks detailed user data to the Chinese government and manipulates the feed by embedding profitable videos to create a certain picture of the world. Some city and state governments have already banned TikTok from public employees’ devices, and last year Montana became the first state to ban the app entirely. The ban was later blocked by a judge and is currently ongoing in the courts.