Why is TikTok a 'thorn' in many countries?

Mỹ-Canada tung 'án tử' với TikTok trong các cơ quan chính phủ. (Nguồn: Iflr)

TikTok has become a 'thorn' and received many 'death sentences' in many countries. (Source: Iflr)

In recent months, lawmakers in the United States, Europe and Canada have stepped up efforts to ban TikTok, the short -video app owned by ByteDance, on security grounds. On February 27, the White House told federal agencies they had 30 days to remove the app from government devices. The United Kingdom, Canada and several EU institutions have also recently banned TikTok from government devices.

A House committee has even introduced legislation that would allow US President Joe Biden to ban TikTok nationwide. Why has TikTok, a platform beloved by young people, become the center of global controversy?

Why do countries want to ban TikTok?

Western lawmakers and regulators have expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance could hand over sensitive user data, such as location, to China. China’s national security laws require domestic companies to hand over data if needed. TikTok denies the allegations and says it operates independently and is not controlled by anyone.

They are also concerned about the amount of data TikTok collects. In December 2022, ByteDance said it fired four employees who accessed data from two journalists from BuzzFeed News and The Financial Times while investigating an internal leak. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter called the behavior a “serious abuse” of the employee’s authority.

There are also concerns about TikTok’s content and its impact on teens’ mental health. In a report late last year, researchers from the Center for Countering Online Hate found that eating disorder content on the platform attracted 13.2 billion views.

According to the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of American teens are using TikTok.

Which countries have banned TikTok?

India banned TikTok in mid-2020, cutting off one of its biggest markets for ByteDance. India accused TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps of secretly transferring user data to overseas servers.

TikTok has been temporarily banned in countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan for spreading content that authorities deemed inappropriate.

Meanwhile, the current popular trend is to ban TikTok on public devices. Many countries have joined the list such as Canada, EU, UK, Belgium.

In 2020, former US President Donald Trump tried to force ByteDance to sell TikTok US to a domestic company or else he would ban TikTok from app stores. However, after ByteDance filed a lawsuit, Mr. Trump's efforts were unsuccessful.

As of November 2022, half of US states have banned TikTok on public devices. Some universities have also banned TikTok from their Wi-Fi networks. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard have been blocking TikTok for three years. The ban does not apply to personal devices, though. Students can also simply switch to a data connection to use TikTok.

TikTok's fate in the US

TikTok acknowledged this week that the Biden administration wants ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban. TikTok has been in talks with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for years to address concerns about the company’s ties to China and its handling of data. In August 2022, TikTok submitted a 90-page proposal detailing its plan for action in the United States.

Most of the current TikTok bans are being enforced at the institutional level. According to Caitlin Chin of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, banning all Americans from using the app could violate the First Amendment. After all, many Americans — including politicians and major news outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post — are making videos on TikTok.

To reassure US authorities, TikTok has taken steps such as moving all US user data to Oracle's cloud. According to Reuters , TikTok has also allowed Oracle to inspect some of the app's source code. Oracle is also tasked with ensuring TikTok's technology infrastructure is independent of ByteDance.

TikTok's CEO will testify before the U.S. Congress next week, where the Energy and Commerce Committee will question TikTok's data security and privacy practices, as well as its ties to China.