Elon Musk Opposes Banning Of TikTok In The US

Posted by: Eninu William in Tech April 20, 2024

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has expressed his opposition to the banning of the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok in the US. Taking to his X (Twitter) platform, Musk said that although this ban would be advantageous to his X platform, it violates all that the US stands for.

The billionaire said that the US stands for democracy which entails freedom of speech. Therefore, a ban on the China-affiliated platform would be a violation of the values of the US.

“In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the 𝕏 platform. Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for,’’ he said.

Apparently, the move to ban TikTok from the US is getting closer every now and then. A bill in March was overwhelmingly voted for in the US House of Representatives to force Chinese-affiliated company ByteDance to sell its US operations.

Currently, the bill is in the Senate and what awaits it looks uncertain. Once this bill is signed into law, about 170 million users and 7 million businesses that use the platform in the US are set to be affected.

ByteDance will be forced to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations within months of the bill becoming into law. If it doesn’t, it risks a nationwide ban. The platform, however, expressed its disappointment in this move and has promised to explore all legal channels.

“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform,” TikTok wrote in a post on X this week.

US President Joe Biden has expressed his willingness to sign the bill into law.

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