Category: Bytedance

‘Your Platform Should be Banned’: Congress Grills TikTok CEO on CCP Ties

Members of Congress and the CEO of TikTok are engaging in a series of heated exchanges over the app’s ties to China’s communist regime, as the House holds a hearing on TikTok’s data privacy practices. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is appearing before a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the first…


TikTok CEO Says Chinese Parent Company’s Stalking of US Journalists Not ‘Spying’

The CEO of TikTok claims that efforts by its China-based parent company to stalk American journalists do not qualify as “surveillance” or “spying.” The comments referred to an ongoing Department of Justice investigation regarding how employees at the China-based ByteDance, which owns TikTok, illicitly used TikTok data to track American journalists without their knowledge. When…


TikTok a CCP ‘Intelligence Weapon’: Experts Sound Alarm on Threat Ahead of CEO’s Congress Hearing

News Analysis Social media giant TikTok is on a lobbying warpath in the nation’s capital, attempting to sway public opinion ahead of Congressional hearings that will examine the company’s ties to China’s communist regime. TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance spent over five million dollars on lobbying efforts in the United States last year,…


TikTok a CCP ‘Intelligence Weapon’: Experts Sound Alarm on Threat Ahead of CEO’s Congressional Hearing

News Analysis Social media giant TikTok is on a lobbying warpath in the nation’s capital ahead of Congressional hearings on the company’s ties to China’s communist regime. TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, spent more than $5 million on lobbying efforts in the United States last year and could spend even more in 2023 if recent…


BBC Urges Staff to Delete TikTok from Corporate Phones

The BBC has urged its staff to delete TikTok from their corporate phones over privacy and security concerns about the Chinese-owned video-sharing app. The BBC is the first British media organization to issue this kind of guidance regarding TikTok—and just the second in the world after Denmark’s public service broadcaster did the same earlier this…


New Zealand Bans TikTok From Parliamentary Devices, Citing ‘Unacceptable’ Risks

New Zealand has moved to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from all parliamentary devices, citing the “unacceptable” level of risks posed by the popular video app. Parliamentary Service Chief Executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said on Friday that TikTok—owned by Beijing-based firm ByteDance—would be removed from “all devices with access to the parliamentary network.” However,…


Biden Admin Warns TikTok It Could Be Banned in US

The Biden administration has warned TikTok it may be banned in the United States if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell its stake in the popular video app, according to a TikTok spokesperson. The U.S. regulator for foreign investments in America, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued the warning to…


California to Crack Down on TikTok, Launches Investigation Into Kids’ Mental Health Crisis

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has launched an investigation—along with a handful of other states—of China-based TikTok, regarding the social media platform’s potential involvement in the worsening U.S. mental health crisis among children. This month, the attorney general’s office announced an investigation into what it said was the platform’s negative impact on children and young…


Ontario Cities, Police Forces Ban TikTok on Devices While Others Consider the Move

Cities and police services across Ontario say they are following the federal government’s lead in banning TikTok from work and government-owned devices, while others consider such bans, as privacy watchdogs assess the video-sharing platform for threats. The City of Toronto says it has not decided whether to restrict the application on city-issued mobile devices but…


3 Years’ Delay to Rein In TikTok

Commentary The drumbeat regarding national security risks posed by TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese big-tech firm ByteDance, has reached a fever pitch. After recently blocking it from federal government devices, Congress might now seek an outright national ban of the app. Given the failure of a prior attempted ban due to…