- Snapchat CEO would love to see TikTok banned from the US
- But he also acknowledged that it would set a precedent
- Mark Zuckerberg would have already spoken on this subject, in 2020
Should we completely ban TikTok from the United States? This is currently one of the topics being debated by the US Congress. As a reminder, the social network is threatened with banishment because of the fact that it belongs to a Chinese company, and fears that the app could be used for espionage purposes. In any case, a banishment from TikTok will necessarily benefit its competitors. And when asked about it, Snapchat boss Evan Spiegel gave a (a little too) honest answer.
“We would like that”, he replied to journalist Kara Swisher, according to our colleagues at TechCrunch. However, he acknowledged that this would set a dangerous precedent. “It’s important for us to be thoughtful and really develop a regulatory framework to deal with security issues, especially around technology,” also said Spiegel. “I believe based on publicly available information, there are legitimate national security concerns well above my pay grade.”
For the moment, the fate of TikTok in the United States is not yet sealed. But Snapchat is one of the platforms that would benefit from a ban on the ByteDance platform in the United States. In fact, as a CNN article explains, Snap stock already jumped in March, when we learned that the US Congress could ban TikTok.
Meta would also benefit
And like Snapchat, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta group would also benefit from a TikTok ban in the US. The group is now facing a major crisis due to the macroeconomic context, spending on metaverse projects, changes to iOS that affect advertising revenue, but also the popularity of TikTok among younger users. Moreover, currently, Facebook and Instagram are in full transformation. Meta wants to show more AI-suggested content (like on TikTok) on Facebook and Instagram news feeds, at the expense of posts from followed accounts. And these two social networks have already adopted a format similar to TikTok videos, called Reels.
According to an article published by BuzzFeed in 2020, Mark Zuckerberg reportedly indicated during a meeting with Meta employees that he was “worried” about the idea of a ban from TikTok (which was already being considered by the Trump administration in 2020). “I just think it’s a very bad long-term precedent, and it needs to be treated with the utmost care and seriousness, whatever the solution.” he would also have explained.
However, Mark Zuckerberg would also have acknowledged the concerns over the national security of the United States. “I certainly think there are valid national security issues about having an app that contains a lot of data from people who follow the rules of another country, a government that is increasingly seen as a competitor”, he would have declared during this meeting.
Par : TikTok Pte. Ltd.
