The short-form video app TikTok has quickly become a key part of popular culture in the U.S., serving as a platform for viral memes as well as political satire and activism. Facebook, the dominant force in social media, has tried to copy the app, but so far that has not slowed down its rapid rise.
TikTok has pushed back on those claims, calling them "unfounded." To underscore its independence from China, TikTok has cited its recently hired American CEO, and said it has "never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked."it would ban TikTok and other Chinese apps after a bloody border clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers.
Policymakers' chief worry is that ByteDance could be forced to hand over TikTok's data on U.S. users to the Chinese government, under the country's national security laws. TikTok has said it stores American user data on U.S.-based servers that aren't subject to Chinese law; skeptics argue TikTok's parent, ByteDance, is ultimately a Chinese business that's still beholden to Beijing.
"It's right to be suspicious of the Chinese," said James Lewis, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a security think tank. "But I'm not sure TikTok is a good intelligence tool for them."
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