Australian Open champion and World No. 3 in women's tennis, Coco Gauff, has voiced her support for TikTok, hoping the popular short video app remains accessible in the United States despite looming ban threats.
Speaking at a press conference following her recent victory over Jodie Burrage of Great Britain, Gauff expressed her concern over the potential shutdown of TikTok, emphasizing its importance for small businesses and content creators. \"I hope TikTok extends,\" she said. \"It's a great thing for a lot of small businesses in our country and creators to spread stories.\"
The young tennis star, who boasts over 755,000 followers on the platform, shared her personal attachment to the app by mentioning Merlin, a pig character she follows. \"There's a lot of trends. There's like this pig online, his name is Merlin, and he knows how to press buttons so he can talk. It's a pretty sassy pig, so I will miss Merlin the most,\" Gauff added.
TikTok, launched in 2017 as the international version of Douyin, quickly rose to global prominence, becoming the second most downloaded app worldwide in 2019. However, it has faced increasing scrutiny in the US over national security concerns, particularly regarding data privacy and potential ties to the Chinese mainland.
Efforts to restrict TikTok began during the Trump administration with executive orders aiming to ban the app, citing data collection issues. These attempts were met with legal challenges and stalled implementation. The Biden administration continued to scrutinize TikTok, culminating in the passage of the \"Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act\" in spring 2024. This law grants President Biden the authority to ban apps deemed national security threats, setting a deadline for ByteDance to divest its US operations.
In response, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the US government, arguing that the proposed ban violates the First Amendment rights of both the company and its users. As of January 19, 2025, TikTok has ceased operations in the US and has been removed from the Apple and Google app stores, affecting approximately 170 million American users.
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Tennis Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff hopes TikTok isn't banned in U.S.
cgtn.com
