PARIS: Due to its ties to China, TikTok’s quick rise from a little video-sharing software to a large social media platform has drawn criticism.
On Thursday, angry American senators from both parties grilled CEO Shou Zi Chew about the company’s apparent ties to China and the risk it poses to impressionable teens.
Because China officials might access data, several governments have blocked the app. The US wants Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its prized asset.
Is TikTok a delightful video-sharing software or a Beijing eavesdropping tool?
Under pressure
India began global TikTok action in 2020.
After deadly border confrontations, New Delhi banned it and other Chinese apps to safeguard its sovereignty.
In the same year, Trump threatened a ban and accused TikTok of spying for China, a concept that has resurfaced in Washington.
TikTok has confessed ByteDance staff in China, now fired, accessed the accounts of American journalists covering the service, but it has never turned over material to the Chinese authorities.
The corporation promised to store local user data on local servers to allay US and EU data concerns.
But, the US federal government and European Commission have prohibited the program from staff devices.
The UK parliament prohibited MPs from using the app on Thursday, as have other nations.
The US, echoing Donald Trump’s threat, is pushing harder to ban TikTok unless it splits from ByteDance.
Billion users
According to We Are Social, TikTok is the sixth most popular social media site with over one billion users.
Although it trails Meta’s long-dominant trinity of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, its growth among young people outpaces its competition.
According to Wallaroo, about a third of TikTok users are 10–19.
Last year, its advertising revenue tripled to $11 billion.
TikTok’s competitors soon adopted its short video format and constant scrolling, but failed.
Creator appeal
TikTok attracts creators and influencers with its editing tools and AI-powered algorithm.
The algorithm is unclear and accused of luring users into digital content silos.
TikTok and ByteDance execs admitted to manually boosting World Cup and Taylor Swift videos.
TikTok claims manual promotion affects a small percentage of recommended content.
Disinformation
The app is often accused of promoting misinformation, endangering users with dangerous “challenge” videos, and enabling pornography despite its nudity ban.
The French news site Numerama reported a TikTok “trend” of posting penises.
The blackout challenge—holding your breath until you pass out—has killed several children.
NewsGuard showed that 20% of videos on hot topics like the Russian invasion of Ukraine were fraudulent or misleading.
TikTok pays AFP and more than a dozen fact-checking organizations to verify possibly fraudulent videos. TikTok removes videos if AFP teams disprove them.
