Mark Zuckerberg tells Facebook employees he is ‘really worried’ about possible TikTok ban

President Donald Trump recently threatened to ban viral video-sharing app TikTok in the US due to its ties to China
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly told employees he was ‘really worried’ about the implications of such a ban

Mark Zuckerberg

Business Insider

Published: 9:53am, 7 Aug 2020

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Mark Zuckerberg reportedly told Facebook employees he is “really worried” about the implications of a potential US-wide ban on TikTok.

BuzzFeed reported that Zuckerberg addressed TikTok’s “extraordinary circumstance” at a recent-all hands meeting with Facebook employees. Donald Trump recently threatened to ban the viral video-sharing app in the US due to its ties to China, and insisted he will do so unless a US tech company acquires TikTok’s US operations.

“I just think it’s a really bad long-term precedent, and that it needs to be handled with the utmost care and gravity whatever the solution is,” Zuckerberg reportedly said. “I am really worried … it could very well have long-term consequences in other countries around the world.”

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is scrambling to find a buyer of its operations by September 15. If they do not meet that deadline, Trump says he will instate a nationwide ban on the viral video-sharing app.

Employees reportedly asked Zuckerberg whether Facebook was interested in acquiring TikTok, but the CEO refused to comment on the company’s business dealings.

Reports have recently valued TikTok as a whole between US$30 billion and US$50 billion, and Microsoft’s portion as between US$10 billion and US$30 billion.

Microsoft has emerged as the front runner in discussions, and has publicly confirmed it is interested in buying TikTok’s operations in the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

US Senate approves TikTok ban on government devices

Since TikTok came to the US in 2018, it has been a dominant force, outperforming US-based apps that have attracted younger audiences, like Facebook-owned Instagram.

A Facebook representative said back in July 2019 that TikTok was one of its main competitors. Since then, Facebook has been working on its own competing feature to take on TikTok. The short-form video-creating format, called Instagram Reels, launched in the US this week as TikTok faces a possible ban.

The Trump administration has been threatening to ban TikTok since early July due to perceived national security risks because of its ties to China through ByteDance, whose headquarters are based in Beijing.

Questions have circulated regarding around how much access and influence the Chinese government is afforded over the apps user data and content moderation, although TikTok has consistently said it would not share such information if asked.

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