Concerns that the Chinese government could access sensitive data through TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, have led the US government to pass a law banning the app unless it is sold to a buyer approved by the government, reports by The New York Times.
Former president Joe Biden signed a law giving ByteDance a year to sell off TikTok. TikTok lost its first attempt to block the law on December 6 when federal judges ruled it didn’t violate the First Amendment. TikTok plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. If it doesn't get a court order to delay the law, it could be banned by mid-January. There's also a possibility that President-elect Donald Trump could intervene to save the app.
It all comes down to China
Lawmakers and regulators in the West have increasingly expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, may put sensitive user data, like location information, into the hands of the Chinese government. They have pointed to laws that allow the Chinese government to secretly demand data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence-gathering operations.
They are also worried that China could use TikTok’s content recommendations to fuel misinformation, a concern that has escalated in the United States during the Israeli-Hamas war and the presidential election. Critics say TikTok has fueled the spread of antisemitism.
TikTok has long denied such allegations and has tried to distance itself from ByteDance, which is considered to be one of the world’s most highly valued start-ups.
