TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has responded to Wednesday's vote on the proposed U.S. TikTok ban, calling it "disappointing" and indicating that the company may take legal action. It seems as though TikTok isn't ready to disappear without a fight.

#SocialMedia

"This legislation, if signed into law, will lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States," said Chew in a video uploaded to TikTok's official account

https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktok/video/7345981888646941994

A study commissioned by TikTok found that the app contributed $24.2 billion to U.S. GDP in 2023,

https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/resource/tiktok-us/

as well as supported 224,000 jobs. TikTok itself also has approximately 7,000 U.S. employees, many of whom are probably feeling a little nervous right now.

https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/150-m-us-users

Of course, any research funded by the company it's studying must be considered with a few grains of salt

Few seem to believe ByteDance wouldn't sell if it came down to it, though. The vultures are already circling, with former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick having reportedly expressed interest in acquiring TikTok should the legislation pass

https://www.wsj.com/tech/why-the-new-effort-to-ban-tiktok-caught-fire-with-lawmakers-7cd3f980

As reported by Gizmodo, several politicians who voted for the TikTok ban actually have their own accounts

https://gizmodo.com/tiktok-ban-politicians-active-jackson-allred-casten-1851332961

Jackson attempted to justify his apparently hypocritical vote by claiming that TikTok wouldn't really get banned if the bill became law, since ByteDance would just sell

https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffjacksonnc/video/7345865128497270059

🤷‍♂️

@ecksmc 🤢 🤬

@ecksmc Washington Olds: “Why are the young people so poor? We don’t understand it.”

Young people: “Because you keep killing our job opportunities.”