China accused the United States this Thursday to operate with the “logic of a criminal.” The approval in the lower house of a bill of law that would ban the TikTok video application that former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wants to buy.
The short video application is one of the most popular social networks in the world. But the fact that it belongs to the Chinese technology giant ByteDance, supposedly subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party, worries Western powers.
The approval of the law to ban Tik Tok in the US
The United States House of Representatives approved on Wednesday by a large majority a bill that would force TikTok to separate from its parent company in China or risk having the app banned in the country. Steve Mnuchin, the former Treasury Secretary in the Republican administration of former President Donald Trump, announced this Thursday that he is preparing a purchase plan.
“I think the legislation should be passed and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin said. to the CNBC network, ensuring that Tiktok is “a big business and (…) should be owned by American companies.”
He Bill still has to be approved in the US Senatewhere the result is uncertain.
“The United States should respect the principles of a market economy“We want fair competition, and stop unfairly repressing foreign companies,” Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said at a press conference. He also called on Washington to allow “an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies to invest and operate in the United States.”. “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the spokesperson said.
China’s denunciation of the vote
For his part, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denounced that the vote that “goes against the principles of fair competition and international economic and trade standards.” “If alleged national security reasons can be used to arbitrarily suppress excellent companies from other countries, then there is no fairness or justice at all,” Wang stated.
“When someone sees something good that another person has and tries to take it for themselves, we are facing the logic of a criminal”he assured.
Before the vote, China has already warned that the possible ban of the social network in the United States would be equivalent to “shooting yourself in the foot.” China has been blocking Western social networks such as Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, for years and maintains strong internet censorship.
The passage of the United States bill
The US lawmakers approved the bill by 352 votes in favor and 65 against, a rare example of unity in a very divided chamber. For its part, the White House confirmed that if it is finally approved, President Joe Biden will sign the law, officially known as the Protecting Americans from Requests Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act.
It is not clear, however, how the Senate will vote.where some lawmakers are cautious about taking drastic action against an app that has 170 million users in the United States.
Who has control of TikTok
TikTok denied always being under the control of the Communist Party. Its CEO, Shou Zi Chew, even urged users to speak out against the vote and several TikTok creators consulted by AFP expressed their opposition to the law.
The application has long been at the center of tensions between China and the United Stateswho confront each other over technological, trade and human rights issues.
European regulators are also concerned and the This Thursday, the European Commission asked TikTok and other platforms such as Facebook, Google and X for explanations about their management of the risks related to the use of Artificial Intelligence and the dissemination of false information. a factor that is especially worrying in the face of electoral processes. Also on Thursday, Italy’s competition authority fined TikTok 10 million euros (nearly $11 million) for failing to sufficiently protect minors.
Source: Ambito
