WASHINGTON (Reuters) – TikTok plans to shut down its social media app’s U.S. operations on Sunday when the federal ban is set to take effect, barring a last-minute delay, people familiar with the matter said. The application is used by 170 million Americans.
President-elect Donald Trump said last July that he would not allow TikTok to be banned.
Here is a detailed list of US charges against the company and its parent company ByteDance.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF TIKTOK HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok poses a national security risk, adding that Chinese companies are required to essentially “do whatever the Chinese government wants them to do in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government.”
Members of Congress have complained that the Chinese government has a “golden stake” in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok. TikTok said “an entity linked to the Chinese government owns 1% of ByteDance’s subsidiary, Douyin Information Service,” and said the holding has “no influence on ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok.”
TIKTOK COULD BE USED TO INFLUENCE AMERICANS
The FBI’s Wray also said TikTok’s U.S. operations raise national security concerns because the Chinese government could use the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.
The risks include “the possibility that the Chinese government could use (TikTok) to control the collection of data on millions of users or to control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations,” Wray told US lawmakers.
Former National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone said in March 2023 that he was concerned about the data TikTok collects, the algorithm used to disseminate information to users and “control over who has the algorithm.”
He argued that the TikTok platform can enable comprehensive influence operations because TikTok can proactively influence users and can also “switch off the message”.
TikTok says it “does not allow any government to influence or change its referral model.”
In its decision upholding the law, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court said: “Year-long efforts by both political branches to investigate the national security risks posed by the TikTok platform and to consider potential remedies proposed by TikTok weigh heavily in favor of (the law) .”
TIKTOK WILL GIVE AMERICANS’ DATA TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
Lawmakers said the Chinese government, under a 2017 National Intelligence Service law, could compel ByteDance to share TikTok user data. TikTok claims that because it is registered in California and Delaware, it is subject to US laws and regulations.
TikTok’s CEO said the company has never, and will never, share US user data with the Chinese government.
THE USE OF TIKTOK HARM THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN
In March 2022, eight states, including California and Massachusetts, launched an investigation into whether TikTok harms the physical or mental health of young people and what the company knew about its role in those harms.
The investigation focuses on how TikTok encourages engagement among young users, including an alleged increase in time spent on the platform and how often it is used.
TikTok says it has taken a number of steps “to ensure that teenagers under 18 have a safe and enjoyable experience on the app, and many of these measures impose restrictions that do not exist on comparable platforms.”
TIKTOK SPIES ON JOURNALISTS
In December 2022, ByteDance said that some employees improperly accessed the TikTok user data of two journalists. ByteDance employees accessed the data as part of a failed attempt to investigate leaks about the company earlier this year aimed at identifying potential links between two journalists, a former BuzzFeed reporter and a Financial Times reporter, and company employees.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that four ByteDance employees involved in the incident had been fired, including two in China and two in the United States. Company officials said they are taking extra steps to protect user data.
