Will TikTok be banned in the United States soon? What you need to know about the project that threatens the Chinese platform

Published on: 03/11/2024 – 06:45

6 minutes

The days of tick tock, tick tock… Tik Tok Do they count in the United States? On Thursday, March 7, the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that would force ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular social network, to hand over capital controls within a 165-day deadline. Otherwise the app will be removed from mobile app stores in the United States. The text is due to be examined in plenary session this week. The White House has already announced He intends to sign it if it is adopted by Congress.

” The bill has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban on TikTok in the United States “, Condemned the social network. On the very morning of the committee hearing, users of the platform saw a message displayed on their home page encouraging them to stop this “shutdown” by pressuring their representatives in Congress. ” Congress plans to ban TikTok altogether. Speak up now before Congress strips 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free speech. It will damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deprive artists of their audience. Tell your representatives in Congress what TikTok means to you and ask them to vote no

», we can read.

The effect was immediate. Parliamentarians reported experiencing a flood of phone calls from people of all ages, some particularly viral. “ Here you have an example of an application controlled by an adversary that lies to the American people and interferes with the legislative process of Congress. », responded Republican Mike Gallagher, co-author of the text with Democrat Raja Krishnamurthy. ” We can clearly see why the Chinese Communist Party wants to keep TikTok, The latter supported: For its ability to target Americans, spread fake news, and relay CCP propaganda. »

■ What is TikTok accused of?

US lawmakers have cited a threat to national security. They say they fear that personal data collected by TikTok will be used by Chinese intelligence. Like Facebook, Instagram, X or YouTube, TikTok collects information in exchange for free services that it uses for commercial purposes. But unlike its competitors, the short video platform is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that American authorities accuse of collaborating with the communist regime. The allegations are fueled by a June 2017 law that compels Chinese companies to cooperate with Beijing’s intelligence services, but which are not supported by tangible evidence at the moment.

TikTok can repeat that its headquarters are located in Singapore, that the data of its American users is not stored in China, but in the United States or Singapore, and that its Chinese employees cannot access it, there is nothing done. In December 2022, his attempts to show his credentials were thwarted. When ByteDance accepted China has fired several of its employees who used this personal data to spy on journalists investigating the company, in order to identify their sources.

American authorities also fear that Beijing will use the highly addictive social network for disinformation purposes. They also pose a risk to the mental and physical health of the app’s youngest, first-time users.

Also readTikTok: A more dangerous social network than Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?

■ Is this accusation against TikTok unprecedented?

Threats to ban TikTok in the United States are not new. In August 2020, the administration Trump already called out ByteDance

The sale of TikTok’s American operations is a given today. At the time, Microsoft was positioning them to buy. The American press estimated the operation at between 10 and 40 billion dollars.

The accusation by American authorities created a legal standoff that Joe Biden ended the following year by rescinding a decree taken by his predecessor. His decision was interpreted as a sign of appeasement towards Beijing. Several bills have since been submitted to Congress, with no success.

■ Is banning TikTok really possible?

Such a ban would not be the first. In June 2020, India has banned TikTok in its territory, along with 58 other Chinese mobile apps, argued that they violated Indian sovereignty by illegally transferring personal data abroad. The decision has been taken after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a battle with the Chinese army in the Himalayas. With 120 million users, the country represented the platform’s largest market outside of China. Nepal had taken a similar decision last November and said it had suffered losses. Social harmony “

In the United States, although the bill has a good chance of being voted on in the House of Representatives, its fate in the Senate is more uncertain. Especially since opponents of the text accuse it of being against the Constitution and specifically the First Amendment regarding freedom of expression. A federal judge suspended last November TikTok banned in Montana Where it was to come into effect on January 1, the case was decided on merits. He said the company has a good chance of winning its case against the state of Montana because the move violated the First Amendment and the right to access information online.

For now, measures taken in many countries against Chinese apps are limited to banning officials from using the app. This is also the case in United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada Within the European Commission.

■ What are Joe Biden and Donald Trump saying?

Even if the White House shares lawmakers’ fears about the dangers TikTok presents to national security, Joe Biden’s campaign team has invested in the social network with the presidential election in mind. His account was officially launched on February 11 during the Super Bowl. The goal: reach young voters, while a study by the Pew Research Center, Broadcast by information site Axios

, shows that nearly a third of Americans aged 18 to 29 get their news through TikTok. Titled “Lol Hey Guys”, the video has received nearly 10.5 million views so far.

For his part, having wanted to ban it four years ago, Donald Trump now says he opposes it. The Republican candidate for the White House believes such a ban would help Facebook, which he accused of rigging the last presidential election. ” If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their income “, he declared on his social network Satya.