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Fearing The Influence Of China, Will The U.S. Ban TikTok?

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As questions about a Chinese company’s ownership of popular social media app TikTok continue to grow, many U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are floating the idea of restricting use of the video sharing platform in the United States. The debate is more than about dance moves and pet videos — it demonstrates how the growing rift between America and China is beginning to extend far beyond politics and trade.

TikTok, a social media application that allows individuals to create and upload short videos to be shared across its network, has been downloaded over 2 billion times since it was launched in China under the name Douyin in 2016. TikTok, which operates outside of China, is nonetheless owned and operated by a Chinese-based company, ByteDance, founded by 35-year-old Zhang Yiming. ByteDance, currently valued at approximately $75 billion, recently hired former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as CEO of TikTok and COO of ByteDance.

Mayer was hired, in part, to address the growing backlash against TikTok related to its Chinese ownership. The concerns are bipartisan – earlier this year Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Republican Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent a letter to the acting directors of national intelligence to investigate whether TikTok poses a national security threat. The worries about TikTok are similar to those regarding other Chinese owned technology companies, such as smartphone maker Huawai, that has also come under attack by legislators, government officials, and U.S. business competitors.

At the core of the issues are questions about TikTok user data privacy, particularly given concerns about the Chinese government’s influence over economic and business interest in mainland China, and increasingly in Hong Kong. Following news that TikTok, which is not downloadable in China, would no longer be accessible in Hong Kong following China’s assertion of a new national security law on the semi-autonomous island, Secretary State Pompeo said in an interview on Fox News that the U.S. is “certainly looking” at restricting the use of TikTok and other Chinese-owned social media apps in the U.S. Pompeo also warned that consumers should only download the app “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Nonetheless, fan of the popular social media platform may be unwilling to break from TikTok, one of the newest breakout apps that has captured America and the world’s attention. There are currently over 800 million users on TikTok, of which 39.6 million users are in the United States. Advertisers are also taking note of the powerful influence TikTok has on its users. With over 25% of its U.S. users in the lucrative 16-24 age range, the influencer engagement statistics, as calculated by Influencer Marketing Hub, substantially exceed other social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. As a result, more advertising dollars are being directed to the platform, which means more consumer’s eyes will as well.

So will TikTok be the newest casualty in the growing political and economic rift between China and the United States? It remains to be seen. But with concerns about China’s growing influence around the world, and increased resentment at China’s role in the global pandemic, attention on companies like TikTok are sure to remain high. Plus, at a time when personal information and user data is more vulnerable than ever to not only private hackers, but state-supported ones as well, consumers have a right to be concerned.

While TikTok may be a fun diversion from our coronavirus-crazed times, like all social media platforms, it has its share of risks. Yet regardless of what happens to TikTok, one thing is certain – people will keep making videos of cool dance moves and playful pets.

The only question is: who will see them?

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