On March 13th, just two weeks ago, executives responsible for TikTok's US operations flew to the international headquarters in Singapore, brimming with excitement. According to insiders, they delivered an uplifting message to their bosses: after years of arduous struggle in the US market, the globally beloved video app seemed to have temporarily shaken off the looming threat of a ban. One positive sign was the usage of the app by President Biden's campaign team during the Super Bowl Sunday, indicating a level of trust in its prospects in the US.
However, upon their return to the US a few days later, these executives were shocked to find their previous optimism was too hasty. Behind the scenes in Washington, a clandestine group comprising bipartisan lawmakers and officials from the Biden administration had been quietly scheming to ban TikTok through new legislative means or force it to sell to non-Chinese owners. This legislative proposal continues Washington's hawkish stance against TikTok for over a year.
Last week, TikTok was caught off guard when lawmakers publicly unveiled their legislative plans targeting the app, gaining widespread support. A TikTok spokeswoman remarked, "The process was advanced under secrecy because the lawmakers behind the proposal knew that it was the only way to push it through."
Today, TikTok faces an unprecedented challenge in the US. The House of Representatives is set to vote on this new proposal this Wednesday, with a high probability of passage. However, the legislation is expected to face a tougher challenge in the Senate. Nonetheless, President Biden has made it clear that if the proposal reaches his desk, he will sign it.
While some top officials at TikTok were aware that US lawmakers were busy crafting related legislation, they did not anticipate its swift and broad support. In response to this crisis, TikTok hastily took action, urging users to contact their representatives to express opposition. However, this move sparked discontent among some lawmakers. Nevertheless, TikTok's management is considering issuing more such notifications to encourage users to continue engaging with Congress. Meanwhile, TikTok CEO Zhang Yiming plans a pre-arranged trip to Washington this week to meet with legislators, hoping to persuade them to oppose the ban.
On Tuesday, House lawmakers attended a closed-door briefing by intelligence officials detailing the government's concerns about the video app, particularly regarding how it could potentially exploit user data. These insights stemmed from interviews with current and former TikTok and ByteDance employees, as well as discussions with government aides, policy advisors, and legislators.
Criticism of TikTok in the US has been ongoing, primarily centered around concerns that its parent company ByteDance might share American user data with third parties. TikTok has explicitly stated that it would staunchly refuse such requests.
Last year, TikTok's leadership attempted to allay concerns with seemingly optimistic reasons. They mentioned the company's resilience in the face of various crises in the US, including former President Donald Trump's attempted ban through executive order in 2020, which ultimately failed to garner support from the courts. Despite some lawmakers proposing bills to ban TikTok, the attempts were unsuccessful, even as some states and federal agencies barred their employees from using the app.
Following the setback of Trump's ban attempt, TikTok took several measures, including data localization in the US, to appease negotiating government teams and solidify its position in the US market. To cultivate a positive image, TikTok aired TV ads with a "Love America" theme. When Montana attempted to ban TikTok, the company swiftly took action, successfully obtaining a temporary injunction from the court to halt the state's enforcement of the ban, with a federal judge even suggesting that the state's ban might violate the First Amendment.
Despite this, TikTok's opponents persisted. Jacob Helberg, a member of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, actively pushed for a TikTok ban. Progress on these efforts was slow until the Gaza conflict became a turning point for action against TikTok.
Previously neutral observers began noticing descriptions of Israel on the platform, along with what they perceived as an increase in anti-Semitic content. Data scientist and tech executive Anthony Goldbloom from San Francisco began analyzing TikTok's data to demonstrate bias on the platform. These research findings, when made public on social media, garnered widespread attention, prompting related lawmakers to speak out.
Notably, lawmakers and Biden administration officials maintained a high level of caution and secrecy throughout the legislative process. This led to TikTok's extensive lobbying and government relations team in Washington failing to promptly uncover the rapid advancement of the bill.
Officials from Biden's campaign team once brought a glimmer of hope for TikTok. On Super Bowl Sunday, they posted a video of the President discussing American football on TikTok, indicating recognition and support for the platform. Subsequently, the account continued to actively post videos, including jests about Trump and memes surrounding Biden's online image.
To bolster confidence, senior executives from TikTok in the US visited the headquarters in Singapore last month, where they had the opportunity to directly interact with TikTok CEO Zhang Yiming and ByteDance executives like Liang Rubo. An American executive briefed the company's top brass on TikTok's lobbying efforts in Washington during the meeting, indicating a perceived easing of the political atmosphere against TikTok. However, last Wednesday, just a day after the ban proposal was announced, facing the impending vote in the House of Representatives, the TikTok US Business Lead made the decision to send notifications to TikTok users in the districts of members of the Energy and Commerce Committee as well as House leadership. This notification allowed users to input their zip codes and encouraged them to call their congressional representatives to express opposition to the proposal.
This strategy may not have been as effective as hoped, as some lawmakers expressed displeasure at TikTok's use of users to tie up congressional phone lines. The committee ultimately passed the proposal with a vote of 50 in favor and 0 against.
