The first clip on the new TikTok page of the White House consists of the cuts of public appearances by US President Donald Trump. In the background he calls: “I am your voice.”
Because Tiktok belongs to the Bytedance group based in China, there is concern in the United States that the Chinese government could get American users via Tikok and manipulate public opinion in the country through the app. Tikok rejects this.
A law in the United States decided last year provided for the app to leave there if at least the US business is not sold until January. However, Trump granted Tiktok a grace period several months and then extended it several times. The law only provided a single postponement of 90 days in the event of a promising sales negotiations. There is still no such thing as a deal for the TIKTOK sale, as it was promised by the White House. The current deadline for a sale expires in mid -September.
Trump’s U -turn in his second term
During his first term, Trump had tried to force TikKOK to sell with a prohibition threat, but failed due to US courts. Now there is a solid legal basis for a ban in the USA – but Trump now finds that the app was useful for him in the election campaign for the White House, especially to reach young voters. He has his own account at Tiktok.
24 US states take legal action against Tiktok
Meanwhile, the US state of Minnesota Tiktok has sued. The Attorney General accused the video platform on Tuesday to bind young people with addictive algorithms. “This is not about freedom of expression,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison at a press conference. “It’s actually about fraud, manipulation, incorrect presentation.” Tikkok knows about “the dangers and the dangerous effects of his product”, but it does not do anything against it.
In a lawsuit, Minnesota Tiktok accuses the laws of the state of fraudulent trade practices and consumer fraud. Tikkok rejected the allegations. TIKTOK voluntarily implemented “robust security measures”, which is not taken into account in the lawsuit, said company spokesman Nathaniel Brown.
Previously, more than a dozen other US countries had already filed lawsuits against Tiktok last year. According to Ellison’s office, around 24 US states have now taken legal steps against the platform.
Many of the other complaints went back to the effects of using Tikok use on the mental health of young people at investigation by several attorney in the USA. The teacher Sean Padden, who appeared with Ellison at the press conference, said there was a connection between increased Tikok use and an increase in mental problems among pupils. This included depression, anxiety, anger and less self -esteem.
