Many countries “turn their backs” on TikTok

The short video sharing app TikTok, owned by ByteDance Group ( China ), is now available in more than 150 countries. However, many European and North American countries are "turning their backs" on this app due to concerns about the personal data security of millions of users.

According to AP, the TikTok application currently has more than 150 million regular users in the US, accounting for nearly 50% of the country's population. The number of TikTok users in the US has increased significantly compared to 2020, when the application had 100 million users here. However, recently, TikTok has faced accusations of "leaking" user data outside. Many calls in the US to ban TikTok or pass a bipartisan bill to allow the administration of President Joe Biden to seek a ban on this application. Some members of the US Congress , including the leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, said that "there are real national security concerns related to TikTok", citing issues of privacy and user protection. Speaking to the press on March 24 (Washington time), US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed hope that US lawmakers will pass a bipartisan bill to address concerns about TikTok. Mr. McCarthy also called TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's response at the hearing a day earlier "very troubling."

According to Reuters, CEO Chew had a five-hour hearing before the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23. At the hearing, lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties questioned Mr. Chew about national security issues as well as other concerns about the application currently used by more than 150 million Americans. President Joe Biden's administration said that TikTok's owners must divest their shares or face a US ban. The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has not yet scheduled a hearing to consider a bill called the "Restriction Act", which would allow the US Department of Commerce to ban foreign technologies that could pose a risk to national security. The hearing is likely to take place as early as mid-April, when the US Senate ends its recess.

China later denied US officials' allegations that TikTok was used to collect Americans' data. According to RT, speaking on March 24, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning argued that China attaches great importance to privacy and data security. "The Chinese government has never asked and will never ask any company or individual to collect or provide data, information or intelligence overseas in violation of Chinese law," Mao Ning stressed. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also added that although Washington has not provided evidence or has no evidence that TikTok threatens US national security, it has repeatedly pressured and criticized TikTok as if the company was guilty.

Previously, many European governments banned people working in government agencies from installing the TikTok app on their work phones. The Netherlands, Belgium and the UK decided to ban federal government employees from installing the TikTok app on state and government devices. Recently, on March 24, Slovakia joined the list of countries banning TikTok. The head of the Slovak Parliamentary Office, Daniel Guspan, said that employees of the agency have been banned from using the TikTok app and that the ban is also proposed to apply to parliamentarians and their assistants.

In a statement issued the same day, the French Ministry of Public Services emphasized that the country has banned public sector employees from downloading “entertainment applications” on their work phones. The ministry stated that following the ban on TikTok in other European countries, the French government has decided to from now on prohibit the download and installation of entertainment applications on the work phones issued to civil servants.

TikTok currently has more than 1 billion users. Although each video is only a few dozen seconds long, with eye-catching images, good background music... TikTok has become one of the most popular applications in many countries. Data from the US mobile application market research and analysis company Apptopia shows that TikTok tops the list of 10 most downloaded applications in 2022 with 672 million downloads, TikTok users are mainly concentrated in the age group of 18 to under 30 years old.

PHUONG VU

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