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Is TikTok really Chinese and why does it matter?

2024-03-19 18:51:18Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Is TikTok really Chinese and why does it matter?
Is TikTok really Chinese and why does it matter?

The future of TikTok is shrouded in uncertainty in the United States after the House of Representatives passed a bill last week that could eventually lead to a ban on the video app.

US lawmakers are concerned about Beijing's influence over the app and are trying to force its Chinese owner to relinquish control.

In particular, they worry that TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, could share data with the Chinese government or manipulate the content displayed on its platform. So far, there is little evidence to support these concerns.

TikTok has never operated in mainland China – a fact that its Singaporean CEO, Shou Cheë, has repeatedly touted. So how "Chinese" is it and why does it matter?

Is TikTok Chinese?

At first glance, the answer would seem to be "no". It was first incorporated in California in April 2015, according to US court documents.

TikTok has never existed in mainland China, although the app was available in Hong Kong until July 2020 when it was pulled shortly after Beijing imposed a controversial national security law in the city.

At the time, the app was trying to distance itself from China in the face of increasing pressure from the Trump administration. In China, there is another version of TikTok: a sister app called Douyin.

It launched before TikTok and became a viral sensation in the mainland's mass market. Its powerful algorithm became the foundation for TikTok and is the key to its global success.

In March 2023, CEO Chew was repeatedly asked by US lawmakers whether TikTok was Chinese. He did not answer the question directly, saying only that the app was not available locally and that it was headquartered in Los Angles and Singapore.

But TikTok is most recently owned through a complex multi-layered corporate structure by ByteDance, a privately held tech giant.

The App is owned by TikTok LLC, a limited liability company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Culver City, California. LLC is controlled by TikTok Ltd, which is registered in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Shanghai. That firm is ultimately owned by ByteDance Ltd, also incorporated in the Cayman Islands and based in Beijing.

Is TikTok really Chinese and why does it matter?
The CEO of TikTok is Shou Chew from Singapore

ByteDance's website shows that the company developed TikTok as a global video product and officially launched it in May 2017. Six months later, it bought rival Musical.ly and then merged it with the main platform.

Is ByteDance Chinese?

Of course.

ByteDance was founded in 2012 in Beijing by Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo, who were roommates at Tianjin's Nankai University, according to company information and Zhang's public speeches.

Since then it has been based in the Chinese capital. In 2021, Zhang announced that he would step down as CEO of ByteDance and handed the reins to Liang.

ByteDance has more than 110,000 employees worldwide. In addition to TikTok, it owns a number of popular Chinese apps such as Douyin, news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, video sharing platform Xigua.

At last year's congressional hearing, Che didn't directly answer any questions about whether ByteDance is also a Chinese company.

He only said that ByteDance is a private company founded by China that operates many businesses in China, but is "global" in nature.

Chew added that 60% of ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors such as Carlyle Group, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group, while 20% of the firm is owned by Zhang and 20% is owned by employees worldwide. Three of the company's five board members are American, he said.

Is TikTok really Chinese and why does it matter?
Zhang Yiming is the co-founder of ByteDance

Does the Chinese government own or control ByteDance or TikTok?

Chew has clearly told Congress that ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government.

However, like most other Chinese companies, ByteDance is legally required to establish an internal Communist Party committee made up of employees who are party members.

Zhang Fuping, the company's vice chairman and editor-in-chief, serves as secretary of the party committee. The committee often holds hearings to study the party and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A session in 2018 was joined by Zhang Yiming and his leadership team, according to the Beijing government.

Also, like its competitors, ByteDance has had to allow the Chinese government to take a so-called "golden stake" in one of its main subsidiaries.

The Cyberspace Administration of China is the country's main internet watchdog.

Is TikTok really Chinese and why does it matter?
The Cyberspace Administration of China is the country's main internet watchdog

This means that the Chinese government now owns 1% of Beijing Douyin Intelligence Service, which is Bytedance's domestic Chinese unit. Wu Shugang, an official from the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet watchdog and censor, sits on its board.

Can the Chinese Communist Party manipulate ByteDance or TikTok?

As a company based in China, ByteDance is subject to a host of national intelligence, data security and cybersecurity laws.

In 2018, China amended its National Intelligence Law, which requires any organization or citizen to support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence work.

This means that ByteDance is legally obligated to help gather intelligence.

In 2021, China introduced a new data security law that applies to data processing activities conducted abroad that may "harm national security or public interests."

There is also a cyber security law in China, which states that the state will take measures to monitor, prevent and address cyber security risks and threats "arising within and outside the territory of the PRC".

These vague and broad laws apply to technology companies and can be used to regulate them.

Could Beijing block the sale of TikTok?

Yes, Beijing has the legal ability to do so and has already indicated that it will.

In August 2020, following an attempt by the Trump administration to force the sale of TikTok, Beijing revised its export control rules to cover a range of technologies it considered sensitive, including technology that appears similar to information recommendation services. customized TikTok.

A few years later, in early 2023, a Commerce Ministry spokeswoman said in the government's first direct response to the issue that China would oppose any forced sale of TikTok.

That's because a sale or sale of the app would involve "exporting technology" and would have to be approved by the Chinese government, said Shu Yuting, the spokeswoman.

Beijing has shown no change in this position since then.

Source: CNN Business

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