Mar 23, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; TikTok LCD ads before the match between Portland Timbers and Philadelphia Union at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
MLS: Philadelphia Union at Portland Timbers
(Beijing) — A new report says the company that owns TikTok would rather shut it down in the U.S. than sell it. Sources at ByteDance tell the “Guardian” that the algorithms that the social media app relies on are considered too important to be sold off to an American company. President Biden signed a bill into law Wednesday that laid the ground work for the social media platform being banned if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell it. U.S. lawmakers say TikTok is stealing user information from Americans and is trying to influence elections.
TikTok has over a billion users worldwide. Over 170 million Americans have downloaded the app. On Wednesday, TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew said the company would fight in court to stay online in the US. The Chinese government has said it does not want ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American entity.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading back home from China after three days of meetings with Chinese officials. He did not say whether he spoke to Chinese leaders about the future of TikTok in the U.S.
