TikTok has promised a legal battle over a new law that threatens to ban it in the US – with the app’s boss saying “we’re not going anywhere”.
President Joe Biden approved the law which states that the platform will be blocked if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell it within nine months.
US politicians are concerned that the company could share its users’ data with the Chinese government, despite TikTok’s repeated assurances that this would not be the case.
The bill was approved by the Senate on Tuesday in a $95bn (£76.2bn) aid package for Ukraine and Israel.
Mr. Biden signed him early on Wednesday – with the TikTok boss quickly hitting back in a video on the platform.
“Rest assured, we are not going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we hope to prevail again,” said Director General Shou Zi Chew.
A company statement added: “This unconstitutional law is a ban on TikTok, and we will challenge it in court.
“We believe that the facts and the law are clearly on our side and that we will ultimately prevail.”
The legal challenge could argue that a ban would deprive America’s 170 million users of their free speech rights under the First Amendment.
The law could also face opposition from Tic Tac creators who depend on it for their income, while China has previously said it would oppose a forced sale.
The use of TikTok by nearly four million federal government employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the United States.
However, there are limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security, and security research purposes.
Read more on Sky News:
What does the bill mean – and could the same thing happen in the UK?
How “TikTok idiots” are disrupting police investigations
TikTok CEO calls on users to oppose possible US ban
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Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell said the move to force the sale of TikTok was not intended to “punish” ByteDance, TikTok or other companies.
“Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance and smear operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our military and our U.S. government personnel,” she said.
