The social network TikTok considered, on Saturday, that banning it in the United States would “violate the freedom of expression” of about 170 million Americans.

This was after she was targeted by a law proposal that threatened to ban her if she did not sever her ties with China.

In an email received by Agence France-Presse, a spokesman for the platform affiliated with the Chinese “ByteDance” group added that the ban law proposal “will destroy seven million companies and close a platform that contributes to the American economy by $24 billion annually.”

The US House of Representatives voted, on Saturday, April 20, on a text that includes a threat to ban the TikTok application in the United States if the social network does not sever its ties with the parent company, “ByteDance,” and subsequently with China.

The American billionaire Elon Musk, owner of the “X” platform, had expressed his opposition to the possible ban on the TikTok network in the United States, days before the vote on the law.

Musk said in a post on the “X” platform, which he purchased at the end of 2022: “In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the United States, knowing that this ban may benefit the X platform.”

He considered that “a similar decision conflicts with freedom of expression. This is not what the United States stands for.”

US officials believe that TikTok allows Beijing to spy on and manipulate its users in the United States.

If the law comes into effect, the Chinese owner of the TikTok application (ByteDance) will be forced to sell it within a few months, otherwise it will be banned from the Apple and Google application stores in the United States.

A TikTok spokesperson said last Thursday, “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the pretext of significant foreign and humanitarian aid to pass a law that would violate the freedom of expression rights of 170 million Americans.”