China Calls for Countries Like US to Treat TikTok Fairly Following Bans

China has urged other governments to treat its companies fairly after several countries, including Britain and New Zealand, joined the United States in restricting the use of TikTok over security concerns, according to a report by AP on Friday, March 17.

"Non-Discriminatory Environment"

Governments worry that ByteDance, the owner of the Chinese-owned short video app, might share users' browsing histories with the Chinese government or spread propaganda and misinformation.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, urged concerned nations to acknowledge "objective facts" and uphold the ideals of a "non-discriminatory environment" for all businesses in response to the bans.

China and other countries are at odds over TikTok due to technological and security vulnerabilities that have affected several businesses, including processor chips and cell phones.

TikTok is now subject to limitations in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, it is now forbidden for lawmakers and government workers to use the app on their phones.

The British government has also banned TikTok from being used on any government phones. Congress, the armed forces, and more than half of state governments in the US have all barred their employees from using the app as well.

Countries that Banned TikTok

Chinese platforms such as the messaging app WeChat and TikTok, have previously been blocked in India over security and privacy concerns.

The US has also limited Chinese companies' access to processor chips and other technologies because of security and human rights concerns as well.

TikTok and American company Oracle have established a collaboration that will retain all US data on Oracle's cloud to allay these concerns.

However, ByteDance was ordered to sell its stake in TikTok by the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which threatened to prohibit the app within the country, effectively closing off the vast American market for TikTok.

TikTok installation on official devices is forbidden by the European Union Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.

In December 2022, Taiwan also outlawed TikTok after the FBI claimed that the app posed a threat to national security. On government-issued handsets, it is forbidden to use Chinese-made software, including apps like TikTok, its Chinese version Douyin, or Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle app.

The ongoing dispute between China and other governments over the use of TikTok reflects a broader conflict over technology and security issues.

While China continues to appeal to other countries to provide a "non-discriminatory environment" for its companies, concerns over privacy and data security remain paramount, prompting several governments to take action against the popular video-sharing app.