Why does the United States want to ban TikTok?
INTERPRETER
A detailed list of allegations against the Beijing-based social media company.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has signed legislation to ban China-based TikTok from operating in the state to “protect Montanans” from alleged Chinese surveillance, making it the first U.S. state to ban the popular short video app prohibits.
Here is a detailed list of allegations from the United States against the company and its parent company, ByteDance:
TikTok management is beholden to the Chinese government
FBI Director Chris Wray said in November that TikTok poses a risk to national security, adding that Chinese companies are essentially obligated “to do whatever the Chinese government wants them to do in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government”.
Members of Congress complained in March that the Chinese government has a “golden stake” in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok. TikTok has said “a Chinese government-affiliated entity owns 1 percent of a ByteDance subsidiary, Douyin Information Service,” saying the holding company “does not affect ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok.”
TikTok could be used to influence Americans
Wray has also said TikTok’s US activities raise national security concerns because the Chinese government could use the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.
Risks include “the ability the Chinese government could use to audit the data collection of millions of users or audit the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations,” Wray told US lawmakers.
National Security Agency director Paul Nakasone said in March he was concerned about the data TikTok collects, the algorithm used to distribute information to users, and “the control over who has the algorithm.”
He claimed that the TikTok platform could enable sweeping influence operations because TikTok can proactively influence users and also “turn off the message”.
TikTok says it “does not allow any government to influence or change its recommendation model.”
TikTok will hand over Americans’ data to Chinese government officials, it says.
Lawmakers have claimed that under a 2017 national intelligence law, the Chinese government can compel ByteDance to share TikTok user data. TikTok argues that because it was founded in California and Delaware, it is subject to US laws and regulations.
TikTok’s CEO has said the company has never shared US user data with the Chinese government and never will.
TikTok use harms children’s mental health
In March 2022, eight states, including California and Massachusetts, launched an investigation into whether TikTok causes physical or mental health harm to young people and what the company knew about its role in that harm.
The research focuses on how TikTok increases young user engagement, which reportedly includes length of time spent on the platform and how often it is used.
TikTok says it has taken numerous steps “to ensure teens under 18 have a safe and enjoyable experience with the app, and many of these measures impose restrictions that don’t exist on similar platforms.”
TikTok spies on journalists
In December, ByteDance said some employees improperly accessed TikTok user data belonging to two journalists. ByteDance employees accessed the data earlier this year as part of a failed effort to investigate company information leaks and aimed to identify possible connections between two journalists, a former BuzzFeed reporter and a Financial Times reporter, and employees from the company.
A person briefed on the matter said four ByteDance employees involved in the incident were fired, including two in China and two in the US. Company officials said they were taking additional steps to protect user data.