Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

With US ban on TikTok on the table, opponent of move warns of retaliation against American firms

With US ban on TikTok on the table, opponent of move warns of retaliation against American firms

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has started running Facebook ads warning about the Chinese-owned app. ‘Foreign tech companies should not be kept out of the US market because of rumours and innuendo,’ analyst says

As the Trump administration considers a ban on TikTok, the Chinese-owned short video app, an opponent of such a move says it would jeopardise US tech firms and global business norms.

“The US government should not ban TikTok simply because it is owned by a Chinese company,” said Daniel Castro, vice-president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a public policy think tank in Washington.

The idea of a ban has been gathering momentum. Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign ran Facebook ads warning about TikTok. This week, the House of Representatives plans to vote on a Republican-backed amendment in a national defence bill that would ban federal employees from downloading or using TikTok on any government device.

TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based internet tech company ByteDance, has denied that it shares user data with China.


ITIF, which gets funding from Cisco and Google, among others, said in a statement that “if the US government has evidence to the contrary, it should share this information with lawmakers and the public”.

“However, foreign tech companies should not be kept out of the US market because of rumours and innuendo,” said Castro. “Doing so not only risks immediate retaliation for US companies, but it also would establish a global norm where countries are free to impose trade restrictions on digital goods and services for vague and undefined national security threats.”

TikTok has become a user sensation around the world, particularly among teenagers and young adults in the US. About 60 per cent of its 26.5 million monthly active users in the United States are between the ages of 16 and 24, the company said late last year.

As its popularity exploded, the company caught Washington’s attention at a time when the relationship between the two countries deteriorated. On the Hill, US lawmakers were concerned the Chinese company may be censoring politically sensitive content and could be obliged to send personal information to Beijing.

In October, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican, asked Joseph Maguire, who was then acting director of national intelligence, to look into whether the app posed “national security risks”.

“Security experts have voiced concerns that China’s vague patchwork of intelligence, national security and cybersecurity laws compel Chinese companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” they wrote.

“Given these concerns, we ask that the Intelligence Community conduct an assessment of the national security risks posed by TikTok and other China-based content platforms operating in the US and brief Congress on these findings,” they said.

Others in the US Congress cautioned against an outright ban.

“TikTok is a potential security menace, but banning TikTok hardly confronts the profound threat China poses to our national security, economy, & democracy,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, tweeted on Saturday.

In November, the US government launched a national security review of ByteDance’s US$1 billion acquisition of US social media app Musical.ly, which was later renamed TikTok. The deal was completed in 2017.

Early this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US was “certainly” exploring a ban, citing concerns that the app has shared user data with the government in Beijing. Pompeo said people should use TikTok “only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party”.

“I don’t want to get out in front of the president, but it’s something we’re looking at,” Pompeo told Fox News two weeks ago.
Morgan Ortagus, a State Department spokeswoman, said the administration “hasn’t hesitated if we think that there is a Chinese technology company that poses a particular threat like we have with Huawei or Hikvision”.

Pompeo, in his recent remarks, “was advocating for a more holistic look and view at Chinese technology companies and social media companies” and “how that affects American citizens”, said Ortagus.

TikTok has been dropped in other markets recently. Shortly before Pompeo’s comments, India banned it, along with other Chinese apps, after a border dispute between the two countries.

In early July, the company said it was leaving the Hong Kong market after Beijing approved a new national security law that critics say is the biggest threat to the city’s autonomy since the handover to Beijing in 1997.

In Monday’ s letter, ITIF’s Castro said: “TikTok has stated clearly and unambiguously that it has not and will not provide US user data to the Chinese government.”

“Instead, the US government should continue to push for better cybersecurity, effective regulatory enforcement, rule-based global data governance, and digital free trade.”




AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
×