Perhaps nothing could have saved TikTok from the recently enacted US law requiring that it be sold to a non-Chinese owner or be banned outright. But one thing is certain: the company’s aggressive lobbying strategy ultimately did more harm than good.
CHICAGO – TikTok is now one of the biggest stories in business and geopolitics. US President Joe Biden has just signed a law that will ban the massively popular app in nine months if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell it to a non-Chinese entity.
TikTok, for its part, has called the law “political theater,” and it is probably right: there is always some theatrics in politics, and bashing China is currently one of the most popular shows in town. Almost no other issue can unite the two major parties. But, given the arrogance TikTok exhibited in the weeks and months leading up to the bill’s passage, the company’s leadership clearly has a fundamental misunderstanding of America and Americans.
Compared to policymakers in other countries, US lawmakers are usually reluctant to regulate business, and many had previously opposed a forced sale of TikTok for fear that it could create a perception of corruption, reduce business and investor confidence, and undermine free speech. Most agree that when regulation does happen, it should clear the relatively high bar of serving the public interest.
CHICAGO – TikTok is now one of the biggest stories in business and geopolitics. US President Joe Biden has just signed a law that will ban the massively popular app in nine months if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell it to a non-Chinese entity.
TikTok, for its part, has called the law “political theater,” and it is probably right: there is always some theatrics in politics, and bashing China is currently one of the most popular shows in town. Almost no other issue can unite the two major parties. But, given the arrogance TikTok exhibited in the weeks and months leading up to the bill’s passage, the company’s leadership clearly has a fundamental misunderstanding of America and Americans.
Compared to policymakers in other countries, US lawmakers are usually reluctant to regulate business, and many had previously opposed a forced sale of TikTok for fear that it could create a perception of corruption, reduce business and investor confidence, and undermine free speech. Most agree that when regulation does happen, it should clear the relatively high bar of serving the public interest.