Recently, the mainland short video platform TikTok disclosed that they have cooperated with relevant Chinese Communist Party departments to apprehend 162 suspected network “black” and “gray” industry criminals since the beginning of this year. The related announcement stated that TikTok will collect fixed evidence of relevant content and report the clues to the supervisory authorities of the Chinese Communist Party, sparking concerns about how mainland platforms are under the control of the CCP.
According to a report by “Jiemian News” on June 2nd, as cited by the “TikTok Blackboard Report” official account, TikTok’s announcement listed targets including pornography, gambling referrals, account trading and unlocking services, and fake traffic. The announcement also mentioned the existence of groups engaged in cross-border activities, organized operations, platform-hopping, using VPNs, and employing cryptic language.
The platform will collect fixed evidence of relevant content and report it to the authorities, according to the announcement. The listed scenarios in the announcement include briefly displaying QR codes for referrals during live broadcasts, engaging in account trading through external groups or providing unlocking services, generating fake traffic, and redirecting traffic to overseas social platforms. The announcement also stated that some users purchased “wall-crossing” software and posted indecent and pornographic content on overseas social platforms, leading to the arrest of three individuals.
The announcement further mentioned that a local network company had previously developed and operated third-party platforms and websites that sold services such as “irregular reporting” and “account unlocking services for banned accounts” targeting TikTok. TikTok stated that they have filed lawsuits against the relevant services with the local courts. The announcement also emphasized that TikTok will continue to transfer relevant clues to the supervisory authorities.
Mainland platforms have long existed under the CCP’s network control system. Epoch Times previously reported that the CCP has been increasingly strengthening network control in recent years, incorporating control over online speech into their so-called “stability maintenance” system. Several insiders disclosed that local propaganda, internet information, and public security systems have been instructed to closely monitor online forums, social media platforms, and live content, and classify and record high-frequency posting accounts.
A TikTok platform reviewer in December 2025 told Epoch Times that the platform had received multiple verbal requests in recent months related to deletion timelines for comments, updates to sensitive words, and user login tracking records.
In March 2026, the CCP’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Office issued a notice requiring the labeling of short video content, including the inclusion of “forced labels” for content involving fictional interpretation, staged marketing, and AI-generated content. TikTok, Kuaishou, Tencent, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, and Weibo were among the six major platforms that implemented the policy in advance.
TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have long been the focus of international attention. The focus of external attention is not only on TikTok’s data security issues in overseas markets but also on whether ByteDance will be subject to CCP laws and censorship systems.
On May 29, 2026, US Senator Ed Markey wrote to the newly established US joint venture company TikTok USDS and cloud computing company Oracle, seeking clarification on how they will protect the personal data of US users and prevent foreign interference in the content encountered by US users on the platform.
Epoch Times previously reported that there has been long-standing external concern about the relationship between ByteDance and the CCP, as well as the issue of the CCP being able to demand data from companies or cooperate with censorship through Chinese laws. According to the CCP’s National Intelligence Law, Chinese citizens and various organizations, including private enterprises, are required to “support, assist, and cooperate” with the state intelligence work of the CCP regime.