American tennis player Coco Gauff, 20, lamented in the early hours of this Sunday (19) the blocking of Tiktok in the United States.
After beating Swiss Belinda Bencic by 2 sets to 1 (5-7, 6-2 and 6-1) at the Australian Open, she wrote in one of the cameras “Rip, Tiktok USA” (Rip, Tiktok in the United States in translation free). Next to the text, he drew a broken heart.
With the victory, Gauff, the third highest placed tennis player in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) rankings, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam. She will face Spanish Paula Badosa this Monday (20), at a time yet to be defined.
The platform was blocked in the country this Sunday (19), one day before Donald Trump’s inauguration for his second term. The Republican says the measure should be reversed under his management.
ByteDance, owner of the platform, would have to sell its operation in the United States or leave the country, according to legislation approved last year.
The Biden administration has said the law aims to combat control of the app by a foreign adversary, not constitutionally protected speech, and that TikTok could continue operating as is if it is sold by its Chinese controllers.
During arguments in the case, Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Prelogar said the Chinese government’s control of TikTok poses a “grave threat” to U.S. national security, with China seeking to accumulate large amounts of sensitive data about Americans. and engage in covert influence operations.
Prelogar argued that China forces companies like ByteDance to secretly hand over data about social media users and comply with Chinese government directives.
Donald Trump, who takes office this Monday, however, stated that he will temporarily suspend the closure of the platform. Thus, the application itself has already declared that it must be reestablished in the country.
