Explaining the possible reasons behind this, Dr Kuerbis said: “I think Chew wisely invoked TikTok’s diverse user base and more importantly, its support for freedom of expression.
“In his statement and in his testimony. he skillfully reminded the committee of the constitutional challenges that such a ban would likely face here in the United States.”
While it is possible for the US to ban an app, to do so for an app this size would be “unprecedented” in the country, said Prof Chander.
He painted a scenario of how it would work: Companies in the US would be told to halt business with TikTok or its parent company ByteDance, which would cut off its advertising revenue, servers and communications systems.
This would “devastate” TikTok and make it unavailable to be downloaded, he added.
“It would increase cybersecurity risks for those who already had the app because the app could no longer update itself to patch any cybersecurity holes that are discovered in the future,” he said.
WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?
Prof Chander said the situation could “escalate”, given that American firms like Tesla, Apple and Microsoft have a presence in China.
“This is a precedent that could reverberate long after this particular app. I think it could create increasingly chilly relations between the United States and China on the business side so that the consequences may be felt far outside the technology industry,” he said.
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