The Ongoing TikTok Saga: A Battle Over Data Security and National Interests
The social media landscape is witnessing a significant turn of events with the potential ban of TikTok in the United States, adding to the list of American tech giants that have faced challenges in China’s digital market.
On Wednesday, August 1, 2023, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could prohibit TikTok’s operation within the country if ByteDance, its Chinese owner, fails to sell the app to an approved entity. This legislation has sparked controversy and debate on the international stage.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin addressed the issue during a briefing, expressing his concerns about the potential implications on fair competition and international economic rules. However, it’s important to note that American social media platforms like Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Meta are already prohibited in China due to their refusal to abide by the Chinese government’s data collection regulations and content sharing guidelines.
In 2010, Google pulled out of mainland China after a four-year stint due to its unwillingness to censor search results on Google.cn. Fast forward 13 years, and the situation seems reversed, yet not identical.
“The TikTok bill appears likely to become law, and China’s displeasure seems ironic, if not hypocritical, given its stance toward American social apps,” Brock Silvers, managing director at Kaiyuan Capital, shared his perspective on the issue.
When questioned about China’s position regarding US apps, Wang responded, “This is completely different. You can clearly see what is bullying and what is gangster logic.” The focus now shifts to the US Senate, where legislators are evaluating the bill’s merits.
US officials and legislators have long raised concerns about TikTok’s potential national security risks, such as sharing data with the Chinese government or manipulating content. However, ByteDance has refuted these claims.
Following the House vote, the Chinese Commerce Ministry issued a statement vowing to protect its interests concerning TikTok. The Chinese government firmly opposes a forced sale and has the legal authority to intervene. In August 2020, Beijing revised its export control rules to cover technologies deemed sensitive, including those similar to TikTok’s personalized recommendation services.
TikTok’s algorithms are crucial to its success and have become the focus of this legal tug-of-war. ByteDance is subject to Chinese laws requiring approval for selling advanced technologies, making the sale of TikTok’s ai algorithms a complex issue.
Silvers believes there might be an attempt to find a middle ground for TikTok to address US requirements, but it’s uncertain whether American concerns can be mollified by superficial changes.
The potential ban could worsen relations between Beijing and Washington, which are already locked in a tense tech and trade performance. Markets should expect retaliatory actions against US firms, according to Silvers.
If TikTok is ultimately banned, other Chinese-owned apps in the US may face similar scrutiny. The ongoing saga highlights the need for a more robust regulatory framework in the United States to tackle the challenges posed by big tech, according to Alex Capri, a research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation and a lecturer at the National University of Singapore Business School.
Applications like Temu, Shein, and Capcut (all owned by ByteDance) are popular in the US App Store and Google Play. Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C., suggests that this episode underscores the geopolitical contest between China and the US over emerging public opinion spaces.
Chinese social media site Weibo saw trending hashtags related to TikTok’s potential ban in the US, garnering 78 million views and thousands of discussion posts. Online commentators debated the implications and called for retaliation against US companies operating in China, but some users questioned the feasibility of such actions.
This situation exposes the ironies and inequalities of US-China commercial exchange. While China has banned American apps, TikTok benefits from the US’s free and open legal and political systems.
