TikTok issues urgent SOS to US users, Pushes critical message as last ditch effort from getting banned
By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Mar 9, 2024, 7:33 PM ISTIn a dramatic move, TikTok has sent out a SOS message to its users in the United States, unraveling information to protest against the data protection bill amidst the uncertainty surrounding its future in the country. The popular social media platform appears to have likely impeded the legislative process with its latest move.
TikTok is in the middle of a major political storm in the US that has far-reaching effects on its national security policy as well. The social media platform is facing a potential ban from the US market due to data security breaches allegedly sending users’ data from the US to China.
The US government is preparing a bill for the protection of data of US citizens that could affect many foreign-based apps. TikTok which is owned by ByteDance is under storm for alleged connection with China's Communist Party. India already banned the app for data breach in 2020 along with other Chinese apps as well.
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The US is mulling over the tabling of the much-awaited data protection bill that vows to protect the information of US users getting outside the country. If the bill is passed in the two houses of the US then companies will either have to comply with the law or get banned from operating in the US.
Desperate TikTok is already feeling the heat and is making last-ditch efforts to protect itself from the proposed bill. On Friday, the Social Media platform sent SOS messages to all its American users attaching a call button that has direct access to US representatives based on the respective consistency.
TikTok requested its users to call their respective Congress representatives and protest against the bill. Many Congresspersons’ office was flooded with calls mostly from teenagers who failed to understand the gravity of the situation paving the way for the introduction of the data protection bill.
The tactic from TikTok is to exert pressure on the Congress representatives who will vote in a few weeks or months on the data protection bill. However, experts feel that the move from the social media platform might backfire as they are likely impeding the legislative process which comes out as another red flag.
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