Since being founded in 2018, TikTok has become one of the most popular apps on the planet. With over two trillion views and counting, it’s easy to see why. However, that success has come at a cost – TikTok is owned by its Chinese creators and investors, meaning that Beijing has a controlling stake in the company. This situation is causing many users to worry about censorship and political interference – something that President Biden clearly doesn’t appreciate. In recent weeks, Biden’s administration has been escalating its pressure campaign against TikTok by threatening to ban the app if it refuses to split with its Chinese owners. If this happens, it would likely devastate one of the world’s most
Since the release of Pokemon Go, the Trump administration has been especially concerned about how it could be used to collect information on people. The app is based in Japan and Niantic, the company that develops it, is owned by Google parent company Alphabet. However, because Pokemon Go is a game released in China first and available on platforms like Android and IOS operating systems where Chinese companies have a significant market share, there are concerns that Beijing could use Pokemon Go to spy on U.S. citizens. This alleged concern has led CFIUS to seek to separate ownership of Pokemon Go from its Chinese creators, though no final decision has been made yet.
TikTok is an app that is popular with millennials. The company pushed back against the new White House demand, arguing that the proposed solution wouldn’t resolve the U.S. government’s concerns about how its content is used on TikTok. The company claims that its own unusual gesture at self-regulation- undergoing an audit by U.S.-based tech giant Oracle among other measures- would offer more resolution.
Today, many technology companies are choosing to divest themselves from countries like China and Russia that some believe pose a threat to national security. The argument against this type of decision is that it will do nothing to change the actual security issues present in these countries. Instead, the data of innocent people will be placed at risk by those who already have access to it. It is important that the decisions made about which countries we partner with take into account not just our own safety but also the safety of everyone within our society.
Despite lofty goals of creating a firewall between Chinese ownership and U.S. business operations, Project Texas has come under fire from lawmakers and civil society groups for its opacity and lack of accountability. Critics charge that the company is marketing itself as an ethical player when it is actually rife with questionable practices.
TikTok, the mobile app that allows users to film and share short videos with one another, has come under fire recently from critics who argue that its content is damaging to young people’s mental health. CEO Shou Zi Chew insists that TikTok does not pose a threat to the national security of the United States, arguing instead that Project Texas – an upcoming feature that will allow users to create and share customized short videos with others in their locality – will place American data beyond the reach of Chinese authorities. Though he would not answer if ByteDance’s founders would be open to divesting their company, it seems clear that TikTok is recognizing the dangers posed by its content and taking measures aimed at safeguarding both its users and its own continued operations.
The President of the United States is concerned about several risks that are not addressed by the current bill. One risk that is on the President’s mind is cybersecurity. The president believes that cyberattacks could potentially destroy critical infrastructure, which would have a disastrous impact on the American economy.
For years, the Trump White House has threatened to take down TikTok, a popular app with teenage and young adult users. In late 2020, they finally succeeded in pressuring the app into selling its U.S. operations to Oracle. However, at the last minute the deal was cancelled, possibly due to widespread public opposition to any form of censorship on social media platforms.
It is uncertain what would have happened to the deal had Biden not become president. After all, he was the one who brought it to fruition, but once he left office a flurry of successful court challenges by ByteDance’s parent company, TikTok, shut down the project indefinitely. Had Biden remained in office, it is possible that a regulatory framework governing social media content could have been put in place and potentially protected both app creators and users from exploitation or unfair practices.
Since BuzzFeed published its explosive report on internal TikTok discussions in which employees admitted to having open access to data on American users, the company has faced a barrage of criticism. In some ways, this backlash may be unexpected given that last year Switching data collection from U.S.-based servers overseas was widely seen as a step in the right direction for TikTok. However, problems with user privacy and security are often enough to trump any goodwill associated with corporate changes and it seems that this time is no different.
Some in the Biden administration are concerned that the Chinese app, which has taken over the world as the most popular social media platform, might be a security threat to U.S. companies and interests. The app is heavily favored by Communist Party officials and has been used to spread propaganda and disinformation across borders, potentially undermining democracy and supporting authoritarianism around the world.
TikTok has long been accused of violating people’s privacy, with concerns that the app may be used to surveil journalists and political dissidents. This week it emerged that the FBI and DOJ are both investigating the company over these concerns, with U.S. colleges following suit by implementing restrictions on use of the app. It remains to be seen how this will affect TikTok’s popularity – while there is undoubtedly a large audience for such apps, they can also have a negative impact on social media users’ privacy if not used responsibly.
The FBI is concerned about the app TikTok and its ties to an authoritarian state with an increasingly adversarial relationship to the U.S. If TikTok were to be handed over control of its software by China, millions of Americans would be affected. Though there might not be “outward signs” of compromise, the FBI is concerned that Beijing could compel TikTok to change its platform in a way that disadvantages American users.
When discussing the CCP’s corruption, Wray cited the example of how the private and public sectors are not as differentiated in China as they are in other countries. The line between public and private is nonexistent within the CCP, which allows for a greater level of corruption.
However, the timing of the Biden administration’s fresh efforts to raise alarm about TikTok probably isn’t random. Next week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce committee, which is investigating how the app has affected kids.
TikTok is taking several measures to protect its users, including requiring user input for age verification, banning certain vulgar and risky content, and working with experts to create safety guidelines for the app. However, these measures do not address the root cause of the problem – social media platforms like TikTok that allow kids access to dangerous and inappropriate content without parental guidance.
