The possible end of TikTok in the USA: understand the reasons behind this decision by the American government and its potential impact on other countries.
This week, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, sanctioned a law that could decree the end of the social network TikTok in the country. The standard establishes a period of nine months for the ByteDance, the Chinese company responsible for controlling the platform, transfers its operations to a “trustworthy” American buyer.
ByteDance may prefer the end of TikTok in the US
The deadline in the rule expires on January 19, 2025, one day before the end of the current term of the US chief executive. It is still possible to extend this period for another three months if the company needs more time to complete the deal.
According to information from the Reuters agency, the Chinese company plans to go to the fullest extent in court and would rather declare the end of TikTok in the USA than sell the application. Currently, TikTok represents a small part of the company's total revenue. If the platform is actually blocked in American territory, the financial losses would not be so significant.
Giving up the short video app's algorithms would be extremely detrimental to the company's global operations. Therefore, if the court denies your request, it is likely that ByteDance will signal the end of TikTok in the USA.
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, said in a statement this week that he hopes to have the Law overturned in court. Shou highlighted that the decision would negatively impact the 170 million Americans who use the platform daily.
Understand how the conflicts between the US and TikTok began
Since the government of the former president Donald Trump, the short video app faces accusations of allegedly sharing data collected from users with Chinese authorities. This, in the view of congressmen, constitutes a serious risk to US national security.
Even after experts stated that the terms of use of the social network are very similar to those of American platforms, the siege continued to close. The result was a series of political mobilizations by Democrats and Republicans in Congress to end TikTok in the USA.
In Brazil, however, the chances of the same happening are reduced. This is because the scenario of geopolitical tension between China and the United States is decisive for the decision. Lawyer Juliano Madalena, who is coordinator of the Digital Law postgraduate course at the Fundação Escola Superior do Ministério Público (FMP), points out that banning a social network from a country is extremely serious and should be analyzed with great caution , as the development of digital platforms is a legal activity.
Growth of TikTok in Brazil
TikTok in Brazil has already established itself once and for all. Since its launch in September 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance, the app has experienced meteoric growth, gaining millions of users around the world.
The platform, being dynamic and accessible, allowed many people to create and share short videos that quickly went viral. Its algorithm, unlike Instagram, made this process easier.
According to a ranking made using data from DataReportal, Brazil has 82,2 million users aged 18 or over, a number that is only smaller than that of the United States (113,3 million) and Indonesia (109,9 million ).
Below the country are other countries such as Mexico, Russia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand. It is important to mention that the app allows users aged 13 and over to create an account, however, data regarding the presence of people under 18 is not publicly disclosed.
