TikTok is desperately making moves to dodge a full ban of their app in the US, which will likely be followed by a ban in the EU. The Chinese-owned company ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has been threatened with banning since as early as 2020.
The US Government has been wary of the social media app for years, believing its ties are too close to the Chinese Communist Party and that data garnered from the app that makes its algorithm so famously accurate is being fed to the Chinese government.
However, there are a lot of discussions between ByteDance and the Biden administration to avoid a ban. The latest is TikTok holding meetings with top advertisers in an attempt to gain support for the app.
As per The Information: “TikTok has been taking steps to reassure the ad industry, including convening a closed-door meeting with advertisers in New York last month where executives, including data security manager Andy Bonillo, explained how they planned to resolve the government’s national security concerns.”
Additionally, TikTok has been looking to gain support from high-profile users and even flying them to DC to lobby senators.
And, as reported by Politico: “Dozens of TikTok creators will descend on Washington for three days [this week], according to a person familiar with the plans, who revealed details on condition of anonymity. The creators will hold a press conference on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, the person added. Another person familiar with the plans noted that TikTok was paying for the cost of sending influencers to DC.”
