TikTok Korea has declared that the U.S. TikTok Ban Bill contains unconstitutional elements and expects it to be resolved accordingly.
Son Hyun Ho, General Manager of Global Business Solutions at TikTok Korea, made this statement during a press conference held on the 11th floor of the Cine City Building in Gangnam, Seoul, addressing inquiries regarding U.S.-China Risk.
When President Joe Biden signed a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban (which mandates divestiture within 270 days for U.S. operations and possible removal from U.S. app stores if not complied with), TikTok CEO Zhu Shouwei posted a video on TikTok saying, “Rest assured – we aren’t going anywhere.”
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Washington Federal Court, arguing that the recent U.S. decision is unconstitutional. ByteDance has indicated that they will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if the desired outcome is not achieved.
Son stated, “The TikTok Ban Bill has a very negative impact on our 170 million users and millions of U.S. creators,” adding, “Both TikTok and our parent company have officially raised objections, and creators who have been with TikTok have also raised objections on the same grounds.”
In response to a question about TikTok’s demographic expansion beyond teenagers, Son remarked, “Externally, it is perceived as a platform primarily for teenagers, but our actual internal data suggests otherwise.”
“I believe TikTok occupies a leading position in current trends,” he added.
He elaborated that numerous trends are emerging on TikTok, blurring the lines between commercial and non-commercial content, and these trends are moving to other platforms. He also noted that the growth rate of hashtags signaling specific demographics, such as professionals or parents, has surged from two to more than tenfold since 2022, pointing to a diverse influx of users.