Already widely criticized in the United States by Democrats and Republicans, TikTok begins a year under great tension after the approval of a law that prohibits the popular video-sharing platform on the devices of public officials.
This text, ratified last week by US President Joe Biden, also prohibits the use of TikTok in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The greater weight in Congress of the Republicans, who have the majority in the House, risks further complicating the situation for the platform.
In fact, elected conservatives accuse TikTok, owned by the Chinese giant ByteDance, of being an espionage or propaganda tool at the service of Beijing.
TikTok is the equivalent of “digital fentanyl,” said Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, one of the leading anti-China voices in Congress, comparing the app to the drug that has caused many overdose deaths in the United States.
“We have to ask ourselves if we want the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to control what is about to become the most powerful media group in the United States,” he added.
A TikTok spokesperson, quoted in the US media, formally denied these accusations and assured that the CCP “has no direct or indirect control over ByteDance or TikTok.”
US federal law follows dozens of similar prohibitions at the state or local level.
In order to have a chance to remain authorized on all US smartphones, TikTok USA may need to part ways with ByteDance.
That was already the wish expressed by former President Donald Trump, who ordered that TikTok’s activities in the United States be sold to the American groups Oracle and Walmart. His successor, Joe Biden, took a less drastic stance after taking office.
Towards an agreement?
But relations with TikTok soured dramatically last month when ByteDance had to admit that employees improperly accessed user data to track journalists and identify the source of media leaks.
A shower of criticism fell on TikTok, in the United States and abroad. French President Emmanuel Macron particularly accused the Chinese social network of censoring content and fostering Internet addiction among young people.
TikTok has been trying for months to find a long-term partnership with the US government through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that TikTok and the Biden administration were close to reaching an agreement that would have detailed strict security measures for US user data.
“The solution that CFIUS envisions is a comprehensive set of measures with multiple levels of government and independent oversight… This goes far beyond what any similar company is doing today,” Brooke Oberwetter, a spokeswoman for TikTok, told AFP.
deaf dialogue
But negotiations have stalled, especially as FBI Director Christopher Wray has said he continues to view TikTok as a threat to America’s national security.
Christopher Wray warned last month that Beijing has the ability to control the app’s algorithm, making US users vulnerable to a government “that doesn’t share our values and has a mission that is completely at odds with the best.” interests of the United States”. “.
For its part, TikTok categorically denies that the Chinese government exerts such influence.
Source: BFM TV
