US bid to ban TikTok raises hypocrisy charge amid global spying
The US debate on the risks posed by TikTok has paid little attention to the privacy rights of non-Americans who rely on US tech firms like Google and Meta [File: Florence Lo/Reuters]
During a five-hour grilling of the chief executive of TikTok last week, United States lawmakers railed against the possibility of China using the wildly popular, partly Chinese-owned app to spy on Americans. They did not mention how the US government itself uses US tech companies that effectively control the global internet to spy on everyone else.
As the US considers banning the short video app used by more than 150 million Americans, lawmakers are also weighing the renewal of powers that force firms like Google, Meta and Apple to facilitate untrammelled spying on non-US citizens located overseas. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which the US Congress must vote to reauthorise by December to prevent it from lapsing under a sunset clause, allows US intelligence agencies to carry out warrantless spying on foreigners’ email, phone and other online communications. While US citizens have some protections against warrantless searches under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, the US government has maintained that these rights do not extend to foreigners overseas, giving agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) practically free rein to snoop on their communications. Information may also be turned over to US allies like the United Kingdom and Australia.
Though it is common for governments to spy abroad, Washington enjoys an advantage not shared by other countries: jurisdiction over the handful of companies that effectively run the modern internet, including Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft. For billions of internet users outside the US, the lack of privacy mirrors the alleged threat that US officials say TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, poses to Americans. “It is a case of ‘rules for thee but not for me,'” Asher Wolf, a tech researcher and privacy advocate based in Melbourne, Australia, told Al Jazeera. “So the noise the Americans are making about TikTok must be seen less as a sincere desire to protect citizens from surveillance and influence operations, and more as an attempt to ring-fence and consolidate national control over social media,” Wolf added.
Why did the US just ban TikTok from government-issued cellphones?
The US Congress banned the use of the TikTok app on government-issued devices. Photograph: Florence Lo/Reuters
The US government has approved an unprecedented ban on the use of TikTok on federal government devices. The restrictions – tucked into a spending bill just days before it was passed by Congress, and signed by Joe Biden on Thursday – add to growing uncertainty about the app’s future in the US amid a crackdown from state and federal lawmakers. Officials say the ban is necessary due to national security concerns about the China-based owner of the app, ByteDance. But it also leaves many questions unanswered. Here’s what you need to know.
Why did the ban happen? The US government has banned TikTok on federal government-issued devices due to national security concerns over its China-based parent company, ByteDance. The US fears that the Chinese government may leverage TikTok to access those devices and US user data. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said the company was “disappointed” that Congress moved forward with the proposal and that it was “a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests”.
The ban means that, in about two months, federal government employees will be required to remove TikTok from their government-issued devices unless they are using the app for national security or law enforcement activities. The director of the US Office of Management and Budget and other offices have 60 days to come up with standards and processes for all government employees to remove the app from their phones. Several federal agencies such as the White House and the defense, homeland security and state departments have already banned TikTok, so it won’t change anything for those employees. And earlier this week, Catherine Szpindor, the chief administrator of the House of Representatives, also instructed all staff and lawmakers to delete the app from their devices.
Congress Passes Bill To Ban TikTok From Federal Devices
Congress approved a ban on TikTok from federal devices Friday as part of a larger government spending bill, amid a recent surge by state governments banning the app—owned by Chinese firm ByteDance—on national security grounds, and after Forbes revealed several of its reporters were tracked by TikTok’s parent company.
KEY FACTS:
- The No TikTok on Government Devices Act, sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), was included as a provision in a $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 government funding bill approved by the Senate on Thursday and the House on Friday.
- The act prohibits TikTok from being downloaded or accessed through any federally issued device or network, with exceptions for using the app to develop possible risk mitigation measures.
- The proposed ban complements decisions by several states to ban the social media app from state government-issued devices, including Arkansas, West Virginia, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Idaho, Georgia, North Dakota, Iowa, Alabama, Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, Maryland, Nebraska, Florida and Tennessee.
Employees of ByteDance tracked multiple Forbes journalists who reported on the company, according to an internal ByteDance investigation revealed by Forbes on Thursday. The revelation follows an earlier report from Forbes that discovered TikTok accounts run by the Chinese government attacked U.S. politicians before the midterm elections while pushing divisive social issues without disclosure the accounts were run by a foreign government. President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday he will sign the government spending package as soon as it reaches his desk.
U.S. House panel approves bill giving Biden power to ban TikTok
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on Wednesday along party lines to give President Joe Biden the power to ban Chinese-owned TikTok, in what would be the most far-reaching U.S. restriction on any social media app. Lawmakers voted 24 to 16 to approve the measure to grant the administration new powers to ban the ByteDance-owned app - which is used by over 100 million Americans - as well as other apps considered security risks.
"TikTok is a national security threat ... It is time to act," said Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the committee who sponsored the bill. "Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP (Communist Party of China) a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into their phone." Democrats opposed the bill, saying it was rushed and required due diligence through debate and consultation with experts. The bill does not precisely specify how the ban would work, but gives Biden power to ban any transactions with TikTok, which in turn could prevent anyone in the United States from accessing or downloading the app on their phones. The bill would also require Biden to impose a ban on any entity that "may" transfer sensitive personal data to an entity subject to the influence of China.
TikTok has come under increasing fire in recent weeks over fears that user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests. The White House this week gave government agencies 30 days to ensure that TikTok is not on any federal devices and systems. More than 30 U.S. states, Canada and European Union policy institutions have also banned TikTok from being loaded onto state-owned devices. The fate of the latest measure is still uncertain and faces significant hurdles before it can become law. The bill would need to be passed by the full House and U.S. Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, before it can go to Biden.
Now that the CEO is off the hot seat, what’s next for TikTok in the US?
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled for about five hours on March 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. He defended the app’s privacy practices, aligning with other social media platforms
Three days before the CEO of TikTok was interrogated by Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress, the viral video app published a statement on its website, stating that they have grown to a community of 150 million Americans. In short, TikTok, in a somewhat timely move, emphasized how the US is still home to the majority of its users worldwide, making up nearly half the country’s population.
Then came March 24, 2023, when TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was thrust into the middle of souring US-China relations and faced a hostile House panel that bashed him over the popular app’s ties to China. The five-hour grilling saw Chew reassuring Americans their data is safe and Beijing won’t be able to influence what viewers see on TikTok.
The direction for the Biden administration is clear: get TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the company or face a ban. The idea of selling TikTok, as expected, was highly opposed by China just hours before Chew testified. That had further riled up US lawmakers who went on questioning Chew contentiously, targeting the app’s relationship with China and protections for its youngest users.
How did the Singaporean CEO of TikTok do in Washington?
Singaporeans love to see how one of their own performs on the world stage, I’ve observed in two decades of teaching here. For five hours on Thursday (Mar 23), all eyes were on TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi, who was born in Singapore and is based here, as he testified in the United States House of Representatives.
This fresh-faced 40-year old surely aced some difficult tests before. After graduating from the Hwa Chong Institution, he became an army officer. He studied economics at University College London before earning his MBA from Harvard Business School. He ascended to the top spot at TikTok in 2021. “I am responsible for all the strategic decisions at TikTok,” Chew told the New York Times last year. The reviews of his biggest test yet are trending negative in the US. Glenn Gerstell, former general counsel of the US National Security Agency, called it "nothing less than a disaster" for TikTok. But I’ll give Chew a clear pass because the task he faced was close to impossible.
The hearing felt as if the schoolboy was called to the principal’s office to get lectured - and not allowed to talk back. At times Chew asked the committee chair for time to respond but the chair refused, giving the floor to the next congressperson instead. Over and over again, American legislators asked for a yes or no answer. When Chew tried instead to elaborate, they demanded “Yes or no?”, cutting him off. It’s a tried and true rhetorical technique for creating the impression that the witness is evasive, and that’s how congresswoman Debbie Lesko described Chew.
Key takeaways from TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi's US Congress grilling
The S'porean CEO was questioned by US lawmakers about TikTok's alleged links to China, as well as access to home Wi-Fi networks
Alleged China links, youth safety and "political grandstanding" – these were some of the themes as TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi was grilled in the US Congress on Thursday (Mar 23) over the social media platform.
Sitting in front of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and with the world watching, Chew started his testimony by referring to his Singapore roots. Over the next five hours, lawmakers posed questions about the app, which has more than 150 million users in the US.
CNA looks at the key takeaways from the hearing:
- TIKTOK AND DATA COLLECTION - Chew moved to allay fears about TikTok’s data collection practices, but he also said the data is “frequently collected by many other companies” in the same industry.
- ALLEGED CHINA TIES - Chew responded to the allegations that TikTok posed a national security threat in the US, and said a lot of the risks pointed out were “hypothetical and theoretical risks”.
- YOUTH SAFETY AND MENTAL HEALTH - One of the key issues that came up during the grilling was the app’s impact on children.
- SILLY QUESTIONS AND "POLITICAL GRANDSTANDING" - Some of the questions asked by lawmakers were posted on social media platforms and drew ridicule.
related:
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's Congress showdown: Five takeaways
Bruising, damaging, relentless. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced four-and-a-half hours of questioning at a US congressional hearing on Thursday. As one congressman pointed out, some people run marathons quicker than that.
Mr Chew will certainly be feeling it, after a torrid time giving evidence. Many tech execs have stood before Congress, and they often don't get an easy ride. But what was exceptional about this hearing was the stubborn, never-ending line of vicious questioning. From both Democrats and Republicans, there was no let-up. A spokesperson for TikTok said afterwards the politicians were "grandstanding".
There is most certainly some truth to that. But between the sometimes frustratingly verbose questioning, we did learn a thing or two. Five takeaways from Congress showdown:
- Legislators were united against TikTok - There was criticism of TikTok from Republicans and Democrats, and the level of distrust and scepticism from all sides was stark.
- ByteDance engineers in China have access to some US data - Mr Chew kept talking about a "Project Texas", a proposal which will see it store all data in the US under the watch of American firm Oracle.
- Chew has shares in ByteDance - Perhaps Mr Chew's least successful defence was his attempt to distance TikTok from ByteDance.
- Chew's children do not use TikTok - At one point in the hearing, Mr Chew was asked by congresswoman Nanette Barragán, a Democrat, whether or not his own children used TikTok.
- What about Cambridge Analytica? - Mr Chew generally pulled his punches. He didn't often take the fight back to members of Congress. But there were rare moments where he did push back - and effectively.
TikTok congressional hearing: CEO Shou Zi Chew grilled by US lawmakers
U.S. lawmakers on Thursday battered TikTok's CEO about potential Chinese influence over the platform and said its short videos were damaging children's mental health, reflecting bipartisan concerns about the app's power over Americans. CEO Shou Zi Chew's testimony before Congress did little to assuage U.S. worries over TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance and added fresh momentum to lawmakers' calls to ban the platform nationwide.
Over five hours of testimony, Chew repeatedly denied the app shares data or has connections with the Chinese Communist Party and argued the platform was doing everything to ensure safety for its 150 million American users. Chew said TikTok for more than two years has been "building what amounts to a firewall to seal off protected U.S. user data from unauthorized foreign access. The bottom line is this: American data stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel," Chew said. But not a single lawmaker offered support for TikTok, as they deemed Chew's answers on China evasive and aired concerns over the power the app holds over U.S. children. Others accused TikTok of promoting content that encourages eating disorders among children, illegal drug sales and sexual exploitation.
"TikTok could be designed to minimize the harm to kids, but a decision was made to aggressively addict kids in the name of profits," said Representative Kathy Castor, a Democrat, at the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce committee hearing. Chew responded to many pointed questions by saying the issues were "complex" and not unique to TikTok. The company says it has spent more than $1.5 billion on data security efforts under the name "Project Texas" which currently has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and is contracted with Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) to store TikTok's U.S. user data. But critics were not appeased as the company failed to announce any new efforts to safeguard privacy.
5 key moments from TikTok CEO Singaporean Chew Shou Zi’s combative hearing in US Congress
TikTok chief executive Chew Shou Zi sought to protect his company from a potential United States ban or forced sale during a 4½-hour congressional hearing on Thursday that rarely deviated from the hostile note on which it began.
“Your platform should be banned,” Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said at the opening. “I expect today you’ll say anything to avoid this outcome.”
Ms Rodgers made a point of telling Mr Chew he was under oath and obligated to tell the truth. Other lawmakers repeated that warning during the long-awaited hearing on Thursday, underscoring how little trust there was between the panel and its witness. While that made for a one-note performance, there were several memorable moments:
- China made its stance clear beforehand - The most important developments may have happened before the hearing.
- Chew stumbles while playing defence = Mr Chew did a credible job of defending himself and his app in front of a room of largely hostile lawmakers who were intent on questioning his every word, even preventing him from responding in multiple instances.
- Lawmakers piling on could signal trouble - Key statements came from people who were not even in the room. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, took aim at Mr Chew’s alleged “lies and omissions” and said momentum to ban TikTok “is growing”.
- Suicide focus leads to tense moment - TikTok’s popularity among young people (and voters) prompted concerned questions about its content moderation policies, including whether TikTok’s powerful algorithm serves up harmful content to people who may be dealing with addictions or contemplating suicide.
- Chew says TikTok unfairly targeted - Mr Chew defended TikTok as no different than the other social media giants, saying his company has sought to put even stronger safeguards in place than its competitors due to the intense scrutiny.
March 23, 2023 - TikTok CEO Shou Chew testifies before Congress
Watch lawmakers grill TikTok CEO over data concerns
TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified Thursday before Congress as scrutiny mounts over the app's ties to China, and potential national security risks stemming from it. Here are 5 takeaways from the hearing.
The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok from the US unless the app’s Chinese owners agree to spin off their share of the social media platform. The US and other countries have also moved to ban the app on government devices. Remember: TikTok doesn't operate in China.
TikTok was the top downloaded app in the US in 2021 and 2022, according to data from analytics firm Sensor Tower. Some of the 150 million US users, who have built livelihoods and community on the app, say they can’t imagine an America without it.
Highlights From TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi’s 4-Hour Grilling By US Congress
On Thursday (23 Mar), Congress grilled TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi on various aspects.
The Singaporean CEO not only survived but also managed to thrive and keep a straight face even when asked the most basic of questions. His composure has won him a legion of fans online, both Singaporean and non-Singaporean alike.
Here are 6 of these moments from the session:
- How does WiFi work
- He’s Singaporean
- Chew Shou Zi’s children aren’t on TikTok
- American social companies don’t have a good social record with data privacy
- Refer to his opening statement
- Why do we need to know where eyes are
TikTok
TikTok, and its Chinese counterpart Douyin (Chinese: 抖 音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 3 seconds to 10 minutes.
Since their launches, TikTok and Douyin have gained global popularity. In October 2020, TikTok surpassed 2 billion mobile downloads worldwide. Morning Consult named TikTok the third-fastest growing brand of 2020, after Zoom and Peacock. Cloudflare ranked TikTok the most popular website of 2021, surpassing google.com. Douyin was launched by ByteDance in Beijing, China in September 2016, originally under the name A.me, before rebranding to Douyin (抖 音) in December 2016. Douyin was developed in 200 days and within a year had 100 million users, with more than one billion videos viewed every day. Douyin was released in the Chinese market in September 2016. TikTok is an entirely separate, internationalized version of Douyin, and was launched in 2017 for iOS and Android in most markets outside of mainland China; however, it became available worldwide only after merging with another Chinese social media service, Musical.ly, on 2 August 2018.
TikTok and Douyin have almost the same user interface but no access to each other's content. Their servers are each based in the market where the respective app is available. The two products are similar, but their features are not identical. Douyin includes an in-video search feature that can search by people's faces for more videos of them, along with other features such as buying, booking hotels, and making geo-tagged reviews.
