The battle between TikTok and the US government has been a highly debated and controversial issue in recent years. The primary concerns surrounding TikTok are related to potential national security threats, user data privacy, and the spread of misinformation.
India banned TikTok in the summer of 2020 after a violent border clash with China, disconnecting over 200 million users of the app [1]. This event marked the beginning of the tensions surrounding TikTok’s presence in other countries.
In the United States, government experts have raised concerns that TikTok, a subsidiary of Beijing-based ByteDance, could be used to spread misinformation and funnel user data to the Chinese state [2]. In response to these concerns, TikTok has been working to win over the US and European governments for years to address the concerns about its Chinese ownership [3].
As a part of the battle between TikTok and its competitors, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Reels, a short-form video format similar to TikTok, on Instagram and Facebook in August 2020 [4]. This move aimed to capture a part of TikTok’s user base and market share.
TikTok has been actively addressing the security concerns raised by the US government. The company stated that it is committed to protecting user data and encourages responsible security researchers to privately disclose any vulnerabilities they find in the platform [6].
Despite the concerns about user data privacy, TikTok has been reported to gather no more personal data than other social networks like Facebook. The difference lies in the perception of the Chinese government’s involvement with the platform and the potential use of data for propaganda purposes [7].
In conclusion, the battle between TikTok and the US government revolves around issues of national security, user data privacy, and misinformation. TikTok has been making efforts to address these concerns and maintain its presence in the US and European markets. The introduction of competing platforms like Reels by Facebook is also a part of the ongoing battle in the realm of short-form video content.