Why is TikTok bothering Western governments so much?

TikTok application / Photo: Claudia Nass / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia

Western governments are angry with TikTok. A Chinese app that is loved by teenagers around the world has been criticized for allowing spying, not protecting personal data and even corrupting the youth, writes Politico. Governments in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and across Europe have decided in recent months to ban the use of TikTok on official phones.

If things go as Western governments want, tighter restrictions are possible. The White House has asked Chinese parent company BitDance to sell TikTok or the app will be banned outright in the US. Security officials aren't saying much about why they're against TikTok.

This may be due to the sensitivity of national security issues or simply a sign that these are unsubstantiated empty stories. The CEO of "TikTok", Shou Ziju, answered questions from US congressmen in this regard.

The most common criticisms directed at "TikTok":

1. China's Access to TikTok Data

Perhaps the biggest concern is the Chinese government's potential access to the data of millions of TikTok users. Western security officials have warned that BitDance could be subject to China's national security laws, particularly a 2017 law that requires Chinese companies to "support, assist and cooperate" with the nation's intelligence community. The law gives free rein to China's intelligence agencies, officials say.

TikTok user data may also be used by hundreds of Chinese engineers and TikTok employees, some of whom may work for the state, Western officials say. In December 2022, some BitDance employees in China and the US were targeted by Western media journalists who were using the app (and later fired).

Last month, European institutions banned their employees from having TikTok on their work phones. Emails sent to staff at the European data protection watchdog explained that this was to "reduce the Commission's exposure to cyber attacks as the app collects so much data on mobile devices that could be used to attack the Commission".

TikTok claims it never gave data to the Chinese government

Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the EU's main regulator on the matter, is set to decide in the coming months whether TikTok illegally transferred data about European users to China. Those skeptical of the security allegations point out that the Chinese government could simply buy large amounts of user data from lightly regulated intermediaries.

American social networks like Twitter have also had problems protecting users' data from the prying eyes of foreign governments, they point out. TikTok claims it has never provided data to the Chinese government and would refuse to do so if asked. BitDance is registered in the Cayman Islands, which TikTok claims will shield it from legal obligations to assist Chinese agencies.

Project Texas and Project Clover

Twenty percent of BitDance shares are owned by its founders and Chinese investors, 60 percent by global investors and 20 percent by employees. The company announced two data protection plans. In the US, the Texas project is a $1,5 billion plan to build a wall between the US subsidiary and its Chinese owners.

The €1,2 billion European version, Project Clover, will move most of TikTok's European data to servers in Europe. But TikTok's chief European lobbyist, Theo Bertram, said in March that it would be "extremely difficult" to completely stop the transfer of European data to China.

2. Entrance door for Chinese spies

If Chinese agencies cannot legally access TikTok, they can enter through a "back door," Western officials say. China's cyber spies are among the best in the world, and their work is made easier if the databases and digital infrastructure are located on their territory.

Dutch intelligence agencies have advised government officials to uninstall apps from countries that run "offensive cyber programs" against the Netherlands, including China, but also Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Critics of the cyberespionage argument point to a 2021 University of Toronto citizen lab study that found the app did not exhibit "obviously malicious behavior" that would be expected of a spying app.

The company wants to hire more engineers outside of China

But the lab's director said researchers have no information about what happens to TikTok data stored in China. TikTok's Project Texas and Project Clover include steps to ease fears of cyber espionage as well as legal access to data.

The EU plan would give the European security authority the power to review policies related to cyber security and data control and restrict access to some employees.

Bertram said the agency could communicate with European security agencies and regulators "without involving TikTok, to make sure there's nothing to hide." Bertram also said the company is looking to hire more engineers outside of China.

3. Right to privacy

Critics of TikTok accuse the app of mass data collection, particularly in the United States, where citizens lack federally protected general privacy rights. In jurisdictions that have strict privacy laws, TikTok faces frequent accusations of non-compliance.

The company is under investigation in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Canada over how it handles the data of underage users. Regulators in the Netherlands, Italy and France are also investigating its practices for protecting privacy rights around personalized advertising and for not restricting children's access to its platform.

TikTok has denied allegations made in some reports, claiming that US tech companies collect just as much data. Meta, Amazon and others have also received large fines for violating the privacy rights of European citizens.

4. Psychological operations

Perhaps the most serious accusation, and certainly the most recent legal one, is that TikTok is part of China's overall civilizational struggle against the West. Its role is to spread misinformation and false content among young people outside of China, sowing division and apathy.

The director of the US National Security Agency (NSA), Paul Nakasone, warned this month that China's control over TikTok's algorithm could allow the government to carry out influence-peddling operations among Western populations. TikTok claims to have around 300 million active users in Europe and the US. The app was the most downloaded on the internet in 2022.

Italy is investigating whether the company is protecting children from viruses

In 2019, reports emerged suggesting that TikTok was censoring pro-LGBTI content and videos that referenced Beijing's Tiananmen Square. BitDance has also been accused of promoting pointless videos to Western children to waste time, as opposed to the useful educational content offered on its Chinese Douin app.

In addition to accusations of deliberately banning content, TikTok has also been criticized for failing to protect children from addiction to its app, dangerous viral challenges and misinformation. The French regulator said last week that the app was still in a "very early stage" of content control.

TikTok's headquarters in Italy were raided this week by the data protection regulator with the help of Italian police to investigate how the company protects children from viral challenges. Citizen Lab researchers said that TikTok does not practice overt censorship.

The company boasts a transparency center

Other critics of that argument have pointed out that foreign governments also manipulate Western platforms, such as the Russian Facebook campaign that tried to influence the 2016 US election. TikTok claims to have adjusted its content controls since 2019 and regularly publishes a transparency report on what it has removed.

The company also boasts a "transparency center" it opened in the US in July 2020 and another in Ireland in 2022. It also points out that it will comply with new EU content control rules, the Digital Services Act, which will require platforms to provide regulators and give scientists access to their algorithms and data.

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