The legislation passed in the House of Representatives that would ban popular video-sharing app TikTok represents a violation of free speech, the company said Sunday. In order to avoid the ban, Chinese owner ByeDance must sell its stake within the next year.
“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans,” said a statement from Tiktok. The American Civil Liberties Union also opposes the bill.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say that TikTok poses national security risks because its Chinese owners may share the data of its U.S. users. However, the company said it has never and will never do so.
