TikTok has urged users in America to “let Congress know” that they don’t support a nationwide ban on the video-sharing app.
The app has been warned to sever ties with its Chinese owner ByteDance or potentially face being banned.
Next week, a vote will take place in the U.S. House of Representatives that could give TikTok just six months to divest or be banned.
“Speak up now — before your government strips 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression. Let Congress know what TikTok means to you and tell them to vote NO,” an advert on the app for U.S. users read.
Former President and current candidate Donald Trump previously tried to ban TikTok in 2020.
Fears were raised about the owners of the app potentially sharing information with the Chinese government.
TikTok’s parent company has repeatedly denied claims the Chinese government has access to user data of the app — which is very popular among teenagers and those in their 20s — and has called it “unfounded speculation.”
Already more than half of U.S. states and the federal government have banned TikTok from state-issued devices either completely or partially. Similar policies have been introduced in the Netherlands, the U.K. and the European Commission.
