Why does the US want to ban TikTok? The allegations against the social media app

the US Supreme Court seemed inclined on Friday to uphold a law that would force a sale or ban of the popular short-video app TikTok in the United States by January 19th, with the justices focusing on the national security concerns about China that prompted the crackdown.

President-elect Donald Trump said in July last year that he will not allow TikTok, which is used by 170 million Americans, to be banned.

Here is a detailed list of US allegations against the company and its parent, ByteDance.

TikTok management is beholden to the Chinese government

FBI director Chris Wray has said TikTok poses a national security risk, adding that Chinese companies are required to essentially “do whatever the Chinese government wants them to in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government.”

Members of Congress have complained the Chinese government has a “golden share” in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok. TikTok has said “an entity affiliated with the Chinese government owns 1 per cent of a ByteDance subsidiary, Douyin Information Service,” and says the holding “has no bearing on ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok.”

TikTok could be used to influence Americans

The FBI’s Wray has also said US operations of TikTok raise national security concerns because the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.

Risks include “the possibility that the Chinese government could use [TikTok] to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations,” Wray told US lawmakers.

National Security Agency director Paul Nakasone said in March 2023 he was worried about the data TikTok collects, the algorithm used to disperse information to users, and “the control of who has the algorithm.”

He asserted the TikTok platform could enable sweeping influence operations because TikTok could proactively influence users and could also “turn off the message.”

TikTok says it “does not permit any government to influence or change its recommendation model.”

In its decision upholding the law, a three-judge federal appeals court panel said: “The multi-year efforts of both political branches to investigate the national security risks posed by the TikTok platform, and to consider potential remedies proposed by TikTok, weigh heavily in favor of the [law].”

TikTok will give user data to the Chinese government

Lawmakers have alleged that the Chinese government, under a 2017 National Intelligence law, can force ByteDance to share TikTok user data. TikTok argues that because it is incorporated in California and Delaware, it is subject to US laws and regulations.

TikTok’s chief executive has said the company has never, and would never, share US user data with the Chinese government.

TikTok use harms children’s mental health

In March 2022, eight states, including California and Massachusetts, launched a probe into whether TikTok causes physical or mental health harm to young people and what the company knew about its role in those harms.

The investigation focuses on how TikTok boosts young user engagement, including allegedly increasing the duration of time spent on the platform and how often it is used.

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TikTok says it has taken numerous steps “to help ensure that teens under 18 have a safe and enjoyable experience on the app, and many of these measures impose restrictions that don’t exist on comparable platforms.”

TikTok spies on journalists

In December 2022, ByteDance said some employees improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists.

ByteDance employees accessed the data as part of an unsuccessful effort to investigate leaks of company information earlier this year, and were aiming to identify potential connections between two journalists, a former BuzzFeed reporter and a Financial Times reporter, and company employees.

A person briefed on the matter told Reuters that four ByteDance employees who were involved in the incident were fired, including two in China and two in the United States. Company officials said they were taking additional steps to protect user data.