TikTok sought to assure its American employees on Tuesday that they will still have jobs next week even if the Supreme Court upholds a law that would ban the video app in the United States on Sunday.
The message is a change of tone from TikTok, which has otherwise said it is confident of emerging victorious from its legal challenge to the law. It also shows that the company does not plan to leave the United States anytime soon, even if it is prohibited.
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is fighting a law last year that would ban the app unless its U.S. operations were sold to a non-Chinese owner. TikTok sent a message to its staff on Tuesday acknowledging the uncertainty around the upcoming decision and assuring employees that they would continue to be paid. The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision before the law takes effect on Sunday.
“Your employment, salary and benefits are secure, and our offices will remain open, even if this situation has not been resolved by the January 19 deadline,” Nicky Raghavan, TikTok's global head of human resources, wrote in the message. , which was obtained by The New York Times. “The bill is not written in a way that affects the entities you work through, only the user experience in the US.”
The law would penalize app stores and internet hosting services for distributing or updating the TikTok app, effectively banning the platform. It would not force the closure of TikTok's offices in the United States.
The message also said: “Our leadership team remains focused on planning for various scenarios and continues to plan the path forward.”
The note, which praised employees for their “resilience and dedication,” is one of the company's few internal acknowledgments of its legal battle in recent months. Despite the existential threat TikTok faces, there has been little recognition within the company that it could soon be banned in the United States, former employees told The Times in November. Executives have sometimes made light of the situation, suggesting at a general meeting that it will one day be the subject of a Hollywood movie, some of them said.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a query about its latest U.S. headcount, but the message was sent to an internal “US Team News” channel with more than 13,000 employees. TikTok previously said it had more than 7,000 employees in the United States.
“As we wait for the US Supreme Court's decision before January 19, we know you have many questions and we wish we could provide you with a clear roadmap on next steps,” Ms. Raghavan wrote. He added: “We know it's unsettling not knowing exactly what will happen next.”
