Experts evaluate the US’s targetting of China by the ban to the Cold War confrontation between Washington and Moscow.
On Monday, Sweden’s army banned its workers from putting in Chinese-owned TikTok on official gadgets, becoming a member of a number of different western nations and authorities companies in clamping down on the extremely common short-form video-sharing app.
Over the previous few weeks, the US, European Commission, the Netherlands, Britain, Canada, Norway, France and even New Zealand have banned the app on work gadgets over fears of consumer information harvesting by the communist authorities in Beijing.
The major concern raised by governments banning TikTok is that the Chinese authorities might use that consumer information to unfold misinformation.
As the ban retains rising, the BBC has requested its workers to put in the app on company gadgets provided that there’s a “justified business reason” to take action. Earlier this month, Denmark’s DR grew to become the primary nationwide broadcaster to ban the app from workers’s work gadgets.
TikTok — owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance — is offered in over 150 international locations and has an estimated one billion energetic customers. In comparability, Facebook has a consumer base of two.9 billion and YouTube 2.2 billion.
‘Bad PR’
Matt Navarra, social media skilled and trade analyst, tells TRT World that the West’s considerations are usually not as a result of the app collects consumer information and gadget data as it’s not distinctive to TikTok, as different social media platforms work in an identical manner.
For the US and different Western international locations, the concerns stem from the straightforward premise that the Chinese authorities can probably use the app as a software of propaganda or to assemble details about vital people, notably in outstanding positions in authorities and international corporations.
“This (threat of data mining) doesn’t apply to other US-based social media parent companies, such as Meta and Twitter,” he provides. “TikTok has been caught doing things which have increased people’s suspicions of the platform. For example, using location tracking activity on journalists from BuzzFeed and the Financial Times in the US.”
Though TikTok has claimed to have fired their “rogue employees” who collected consumer information, it has finished little to assuage the West. The Chinese authorities has individually denied ever asking corporations handy over information gathered abroad.
“This was very bad PR, even though TikTok calls these people rogue employees who acted on their own accord,” he says.
“These initiatives have a snowball effect, and we’ll probably see many more countries and big organisations like the BBC implement some sort of restrictions on their staff, particularly if the US does decide to go ahead with the ban nationwide.”
‘Cold War-style confrontation’
Geopolitical analyst Geoffrey Miller feels there might be “some legitimate security concerns” concerning TikTok’s utilization in particular circumstances although the international locations need to current arduous proof of any information misuse.
Miller says that the app is attracting better scrutiny partly because of its success and recognition with a youthful viewers. But he feels that choices on bans have to be made on a principled foundation and never as a result of they’re profitable, or solely once they change into profitable. “Western countries and companies also benefit from the competition that apps like TikTok provide,” he provides.
According to Miller, the rising recognition of TikTok has sparked a shadow expertise struggle between the 2 superpowers as geopolitical tensions intensify between China and the US.
He says that this struggle is being fought on a number of ranges, together with the US’ ban on transferring semiconductor manufacturing expertise to China. “In turn, these moves are only likely to spur China’s determination for greater self-reliance and reduced cooperation with the West. There are parallels with the ‘space race’ between the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War,” he says.
“Ultimately, this new technology battle between China and the US is only going to take us further down the path of a Cold War-style confrontation that most would prefer to avoid.”
Navarra additionally feels that the marketing campaign in opposition to TikTok would pressure political and business relationships between the 2 financial superpowers as TikTok is one in every of China’s large exports with success tales within the tech world.
“For the US to implement so many restrictions and limitations or potentially trying to force ByteDance to sell TikTok will not be seen favourably by the Chinese government,” Miller provides.
US doubles down
Last month, the White House knowledgeable federal companies that that they had 30 days to take away the app from government-owned gadgets. Some companies, such because the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State, have already got restrictions in place.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has invested heavily in defending our nation’s digital infrastructure and curbing foreign adversaries’ access to Americans’ data,” stated Chris DeRusha, the federal chief data safety officer, stating that the steerage is a part of the administration’s ongoing initiatives to guard the nation’s digital infrastructure and assure the privateness and safety of the residents.
Amid rising international concern over the social media platform, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified final week earlier than the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the place the US lawmakers aggressively questioned Chew over its alleged ties to the Chinese authorities and the corporate’s data-security practices.
Chew, in over 5 hours of testimony, repeatedly denied the app’s mum or dad firm ByteDance is owned or managed by the Chinese authorities and asserted it’s a non-public firm.
READ MORE: TikTok boss grilled in US Congress over alleged China ties
Source: TRTWorld and companies
Source: www.trtworld.com
