TikTok CEO Vanessa Pappas has asked Facebook and Instagram to support TikTok, which plans to challenge the US government’s decision to ban the app in the country. Ms Pappas called for “to put aside competition and focus on key principles such as freedom of expression” and due process.
Thus, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, wrote on Twitter that “a ban on TikTok in the United States would be very bad for Instagram, Facebook and the Internet in general.”
“We agree that such a ban would harm the entire industry. We invite Facebook and Instagram to publicly join us and support our lawsuit, ” replied Ms Pappas.
Recall that the United States will ban WeChat and TikTok from September 20. This follows from the decree signed by US President Donald Trump on August 7 . In it, he gave US companies 45 days to terminate deals with Chinese companies Tencent and ByteDance (developers of the WeChat messenger and the social network TikTok, respectively) regarding the operation of applications. Mr Trump justified the ban as a threat to national security. The American company Oracle is a key contender for TikTok’s business in the United States. Oracle and ByteDance are considering setting up a US government oversight council for TikTok, which will have to be approved by the US government, Axios said.
About the ban on TikTok And WeChat by US Government
Effective September 20, TikTok and WeChat should be removed from the AppStore, Google Play and other app stores in the United States. TikTok can avoid total blocking in the country if it sells its local unit to a US player
Mobile applications for video and text messaging TikTok and WeChat have been prohibited from being distributed or maintained through US app stores since September 20. This was reported on the website of the US Department of Commerce. In addition, from the same date, it is prohibited to transfer money to the United States using WeChat or process payments.
Both applications collect vast amounts of user data: about their location, network activity, as well as browsing and search history. In addition, each of them cooperates with the Chinese intelligence services, and the use of WeChat and TikTok poses unacceptable risks to US national security, the agency said in a statement.
“Today’s actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party,” US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said on the website.
How the ban will affect users
Starting September 20, US users will not be able to download WeChat and TikTok apps from app stores or update those apps if they have been downloaded previously. From the same date, WeChat users will not be able to make payments through it, in the United States it will be prohibited to provide it with web hosting, content delivery networks, etc., which should seriously slow down the application; it is forbidden to use the software code, functions and services from WeChat in the software, that is, to create its clones in the United States. Similar measures for TikTok will begin on November 12
