A number of Change.org petitions to save TikTok are receiving lots of support as lawmakers try to ban the video app in the United States.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was in Washington this week to testify in front of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee.
He stood before Congress on Thursday (March 23) and tried to convince politicians the app is safe for the US’s 150 million users.
Mr Chew was grilled for five hours on TikTok’s relationship with China, data usage and youth safety, but didn’t seem to reassure them.
For many, TikTok isn’t just a social media platform, it’s their whole career, and blocking it would have a huge impact on millions of Americans.
In a bid to try and stop it being banned, various petitions on Change.org are gaining thousands of signatures…
‘Stop the TikTok ban’ Change.org petition goes viral
The biggest petition is called ‘Stop the TikTok ban’ and has had more than 56,000 signatures at the time of writing this.
“100 million Americans use the social media app TikTok to be entertained, informed, and inspired,” the petition’s creator Anthony Youn says.
“Yet, the United States government is threatening to ban TikTok outright in a bipartisan overreach that ignores our freedom of speech.”
They describe this as an “overreach like nothing we have seen before” and say everyone should use their free speech as America is a free country.
The petition wants TikTok to work with the US government to solve the concerns “without taking away an app that provides so much enjoyment, education, and community”.
“We must act now to let our politicians know that they cannot and should not control what we can see, hear, and share.”
‘Save TikTok’ petition gets thousands of signatures
Another popular petition on Change.org is titled ‘Save TikTok’ and has had more than 29,000 signatures when writing this.
“There is talk in the United States of banning the social media platform TikTok because of tensions between the United States and China as well as potential security risks,” the description begins.
“We cannot ban this app, not because it is impossible, but because there are many people that depend on it financially.”
It explains that the app has launched careers for people in a number of industries including musicians, photographers, dancers and more.
“While this app is mainly used as a source of entertainment, many legitimate businesses have benefited from this platform,” the petition continues.
It adds that TikTok helped many people monetarily throughout the “economically devastating” Coronavirus pandemic.
People rally support on Twitter
A number of people are sharing the two petitions on Twitter to rally support.
One person wrote: “Please sign this petition. And RT or share!”
“If you have time sign this petition please,” said another.
A third person added: “Please sign here in hopes that TikTok won’t be banned.”
For a petition to be addressed in Congress, it needs to have more than 100,000 signatures.
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