TikTok’s days in the USA may be numbered

We read just last week about how India has decided to ban TikTok along with several other Chinese apps for security concerns, and now it appears the USA may also be considering a ban of its own. This comes as the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that they are taking the threats made against TikTok quite seriously and are “looking into it”.

US lawmakers are apparently concerned over TikTok’s handling of user data and the relationship the company has with Beijing-based ByteDance and the Chinese government. It’s still not clear exactly what these issues are over the company’s data handling, though the concerns are that the company is working with the Chinese government are perhaps even more interesting (or laughable). Even though TikTok has a Chinese owner, it is still run by a US CEO with hundreds of employees and key leaders in America, and so it’s unlikely they would ever look to contravene data rules for political reasons. Something that TikTok was quick to point out in a statement of their own:

TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the U.S. We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked

I guess whether TikTok is a data and privacy risk is something that does need to be investigated, but the whole thing does sound, much like the case with India, like it could be politically motivated. The bigger concern though is for TikTok themselves who could then be losing both their biggest audiences in terms of numbers(India) and their biggest in terms of revenue (US) which could easily lead to a decline in the usage of the app and possible future ruin.

Though on the plus side, as someone who can’t stand the app, at least it means I won’t need to see those ridiculous videos on the internet anymore.

Last Updated: July 8, 2020