“Sociable” is the latest commentary on necessary social media developments and trends from industry expert Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today.
TikTok is once more calling on its U.S. users to lobby the federal government on its behalf in light of the latest push by U.S. lawmakers to ban the app.
Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers proposed a recent bill within the House of Representatives that will essentially force TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell the platform into U.S. ownership, or it could be banned from America entirely. The proposal stems from concerns that TikTok is providing U.S. user data to the Chinese government, which still looms as a threat.
In response, TikTok says that the proposed bill is in violation of the First Amendment, while it’s also issued a rallying call to U.S. users within the app, with this pop-up alert appearing in-stream, making it easy for users to call their House representative.
It’s not the primary time that TikTok has called on its user community to oppose congress on its behalf.
In March last yr, after the White House moved to empower the President to impose restrictions on the app, TikTok shipped a crew of platform influencers to the capital in order that they might “stand side-by-side with the TikTok team” to oppose the move.
Maybe that had an impact, as TikTok hasn’t been banned yet, and possibly that’s why TikTok is looking to employ the identical tactics again, using its massive user base as a way to spook U.S. lawmakers into voting against any proposed bill.
Though I doubt that it’ll have any real impact.
Cybersecurity experts proceed to sound the alarm concerning the app, and its linkage to the C.C.P., and as global tensions proceed to simmer, it looks like motion against TikTok is entirely down to the selections of the Chinese government.
Right now, U.S.-China relations seem relatively stable, so there’s likely no reason why the White House would feel compelled to act. But any change could offset that balance, and leave TikTok as a casualty of geopolitical unrest.
And that’s at all times a possibility. China’s ever-advancing actions within the South China Sea, and its push to uphold its rule over surrounding nations, could easily put it on a collision course with the U.S., and if that happens, a TikTok ban could quickly be enacted.
Indeed, Chinese officials have this week criticized the U.S. for imposing trade sanctions against Chinese corporations, and that alone could possibly be one more reason for the resumption of discussions around a TikTok ban.
Yet, at the identical time, any outright ban of any Chinese company from operating within the U.S. will lead to retaliatory restrictions from the C.C.P. China is the third-largest export marketplace for the U.S., which makes this a dangerous proposal, and is probably going why the White House has been hesitant to act.
But does TikTok actually pose a security risk?
Well, the important thing concern is that each one Chinese-owned corporations have to share data with the Chinese government on request, as per China’s cybersecurity laws. There’s no evidence to suggest that the C.C.P. has requested such, but there are indications that U.S. user data continues to be being transferred to China, and if the C.C.P. sought it, it could access rather a lot more, if it selected.
With that as the idea, you’ll have to conclude that TikTok does pose a security risk, but on the other hand, that’s also defining China as a risk in itself, which leads to other accusations and complications throughout the U.S.-China relationship.
But the underside line is that concerns will remain until TikTok is either sold off or banned.
It just depends on how significant government officials view such, and inside that, I’m unsure that a couple of calls from TikTok users will sway opinion.
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