On Friday, December 6th, the US Federal Appeals Court upheld a law that requires the China-based company ByteDance to divest its popular short-video app TikTok by January 19th next year in the United States, or else TikTok will face a ban.
The Appeals Court, in detailing their support for this law, noted that it is a result of efforts by both the Republican and Democratic parties and two presidents, as part of a “broader effort to address the well-documented national security threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC, Communist China).”
The Department of Justice stated that under Chinese ownership, TikTok poses a threat due to its access to a large amount of personal data of Americans; the Department alleged that the Chinese Communist Party could secretly manipulate Americans through information consumed via TikTok.
Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling “an important step in preventing the weaponization of TikTok by the Chinese (Communist) government.”
The law prohibits app stores like Apple and Google from offering the TikTok app and internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless ByteDance divests from TikTok by the January 19th deadline.
In a concurring opinion, US Appeals Court Judge Sri Srinivasan acknowledged that the ruling would have a significant impact. He stated, “177 million Americans use TikTok to create and view various forms of expression and interact with each other and the world. However, it is precisely because of the platform’s widespread influence that Congress and multiple presidents have decided to separate it from (Chinese Communist) control, crucial to safeguarding our national security.”
Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote in the court opinion, “Therefore, TikTok’s millions of users will need to find alternative communication mediums. This burden lies not with the US government but with the mixed commercial threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (Communist China) to US national security. The US government has been in contact with TikTok for years to find alternative solutions.”
Friday’s verdict could signal the end of the TikTok platform in the US, but TikTok still has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Why does the US want to ban TikTok? Below is a detailed list of allegations against the company and its parent company ByteDance compiled by Reuters.
FBI Director Chris Wray stated that TikTok poses a national security risk, adding that Chinese companies essentially must do “anything the Chinese (Communist) government wants them to do when it comes to sharing information or acting as tools for the Chinese (Communist) government.”
Congress members believe that the Chinese government holds “golden shares” in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok.
TikTok noted that “an entity affiliated with the Chinese (Communist) government holds a 1% stake in ByteDance’s subsidiary Douyin Information Services”; the company also mentioned that this stake “has no bearing on ByteDance’s global operations outside China, including TikTok.”
Wray also mentioned that TikTok’s operations in the US raise national security concerns because the Chinese government could utilize the video-sharing app to influence or control users and their devices.
He informed US lawmakers that the risks include “the Chinese (Communist) government potentially using (TikTok) to control data collection for millions of users or control recommendation algorithms that could be used for influence operations.”
NSA Director Paul Nakasone expressed concerns in March 2023 about TikTok’s data collection, algorithms used to propagate information to users, and who controls those algorithms.
He asserted that the TikTok platform can facilitate broad influence actions because TikTok can actively impact users and also “shape the narrative.”
TikTok stated that “no government is allowed to influence or alter its recommendation algorithms.”
A three-judge panel of the US Federal Court of Appeals supported the law, stating, “Both major political branches have been investigating the national security risks posed by the TikTok platform for years and considering the potential remedies proposed by TikTok, efforts deemed necessary to implement the law.”
Congress members allege that under the 2017 Chinese National Intelligence Law, the Chinese government can compel ByteDance to share TikTok user data. TikTok argued that because it is registered in California and Delaware, it is subject to US laws and regulations.
The CEO of TikTok stated that the company has never and will never share American user data with the Chinese (Communist) government.
In March 2022, eight states, including California and Massachusetts, initiated an investigation into whether TikTok caused physical or mental health harm to young people and how much the company knew about its role in such harm.
The investigation focused on how TikTok increases engagement among young users, purportedly by increasing time spent on the platform and usage frequency.
TikTok mentioned that it has taken several measures “to help ensure minors under 18 have a safe and enjoyable experience on the platform, many of which impose restrictions not found on similar platforms.”
In December 2022, ByteDance stated that some employees improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists. When investigating a corporate data breach earlier this year, ByteDance employees accessed this data but were unsuccessful; their aim was to uncover potential connections between the two journalists (one former BuzzFeed reporter and one from the Financial Times of London) and company employees.
A source told Reuters that the four ByteDance employees involved have been terminated, with two in China and two in the US. Company officials mentioned that they are taking additional measures to protect user data.