TikTok is one of the technology companies that could be most impacted by the US election results. But with the election results looming, workers took a surprising break from the high-level political drama that could decide the app’s fate.
A San Jose-based product manager, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to talk to the media, says he was more worried about the TikTok ban before he joined the company earlier this year than he is now. He says his colleagues rarely discuss the topic, and his team plans future product features for the app as if a ban wasn’t imminent.
“Now I feel indifferent,” he says. “There’s not much you can do as an ordinary employee, and that’s what everyone thinks, so it’s business as usual.”
WIRED spoke to six employees of TikTok and its parent company ByteDance on the condition of anonymity, and all of them report very little, if any, discussion of the U.S. election or politics within their ranks.
While outsiders speculate about the app’s potential demise, U.S. TikTok employees say discussions about the ban are occurring more often with their international counterparts or friends outside of ByteDance. “There is almost a consensus not to talk about this matter. Very occasionally, some of us may say that maybe it’s time to change our decision, but such discussions rarely arise,” says a TikTok product manager.
In April, the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act (PAFACA) was signed into law, requiring TikTok to sell its U.S. operations to a domestic buyer or face a ban. But a few months later, the topic had largely disappeared from the news headlines, even as politicians continued to talk about China leading up to the election.
So far, Kamala Harris has not commented on what she would do with TikTok as US president, but experts expect that she will more or less implement the Biden administration’s technology policies, including following the PAFACA bill.
Donald Trump, in turn, publicly backed away from his 2020 stance on banning the app after reportedly being lobbied by Jeff Yassbillionaire and ByteDance investor. Trump recently said in a September campaign video that “anyone who wants to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump.” But he hasn’t made saving TikTok a major topic of conversation during his campaign stops, and people are unsure whether he would stand by his latest opinion if he won.