ការហាមប្រាម TikTok របស់រដ្ឋាភិបាល៖ ស្វែងយល់ពីផលប៉ះពាល់សកល

Topline

TikTok has been banned on government devices in various countries out of a concern the app’s owner, China-based ByteDance, is sharing users’ private data with the Chinese government, raising concerns about how much longer many people around the globe will be able to access the app.

ការពិតសំខាន់

Eroding relations with China and election disinformation have been cited as further reasons for banning TikTok in the U.S., prompting Congress members to propose legislation to ban TikTok.

TikTok is banned on government devices in over a dozen states, and some universities have even banned student access to TikTok through their school’s internet connection.

Outside of the U.S., nearly 10 countries have banned TikTok on their government devices as well.

Why Is Tiktok Being Banned?

Many countries are concerned that users’ private data could be shared with the Chinese government based on China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law. ទស្សនាវដ្តី Forbes previously reported that ByteDance was planning to use TikTok to access users’ location data without their consent. These reports of surveillance and tracking have pushed legislation to ban TikTok on government devices or make it inaccessible via their WiFi.

Other reports said the app tracks users’ keystrokes. During last year’s midterm election, several videos surrounding U.S. politicians were pushed out by Chinese government-affiliated accounts, ទស្សនាវដ្តី Forbes reported, striking discussions of TikTok pushing division. The possibility that the Chinese government could spread propaganda on the app poses concerns for the U.S., as well, according to Robert Daly, the director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States.

Concerns of data security and the spread of propaganda and misinformation are exacerbated by relations between the U.S. and China, which has grown tense in recent years. The efforts to ban TikTok could be seen as “promotion of reciprocity,” Daly says, for U.S. apps like Facebook, YouTube and Google among others, being banned in China.

“China and the United States are now in a hostile relationship that is going to play out over decades, and it will be as dangerous and as costly as the first Cold War,” Daly said. “We need to watch China and watch its platforms because this is, essentially, a Cold War kind of relationship, and we should expect China to use these platforms in any way that it can to increase its advantages.”

U.s. Congress V. Tiktok

In February, Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-Texas) proposed the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries (DATA) Act, which would authorize the Department of Treasury to prevent people in the U.S. from engaging with platforms that are influenced by the Chinese government, and the president to ban or impose sanctions on TikTok.

In March, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), proposed the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, which would impose civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply, and authorize the Department of Commerce to identify potential security threats from foreign entities.

Shou Zi Chew, the U.S. CEO of TikTok, testified before Congress that same month and, according to Daly, the behavior from Congress did “considerable damage to the United States’ reputation throughout Asia.”

“The general view was that the members of the United States Congress–most of them–treated the CEO with extreme disrespect and there was some fundamental illogic to their attacks on him. Many of them were seen as not really asking questions because they wanted answers, but simply using their time to attack China and attack audiences,” Daly explained.

The American Civil liberties Union has criticized proposed TikTok bans as an issue of censorship and the singling out of the app as xenophobic. A petition was started against the efforts to ban TikTok.

Is Tiktok Banned Anywhere In The U.s.?

TikTok is banned on all government devices in the U.S. Nearly half of the states—Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming—have also banned the app on government devices.

Montana recently became the first U.S. state to ban its residents from downloading TikTok on their devices, citing concerns of the app selling their private data. Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store can be fined up to $10,000 for allowing TikTok to be downloaded in the state, and, although it remains unclear how the law will actually be enforced, the bill will take effect by January 1, 2024.

TikTok is suing Montana and Attorney General Austin Knudsen, citing that the law “abridges freedom of speech in violation of the First Amendment” and “violates the U.S. Constitution.”

As of May, over 30 colleges and universities across the country, including Auburn University, Oklahoma State university and the University of Texas at Austin, also have banned access to TikTok through their school’s WiFi networks.

In the U.S., about 150 million people use TikTok. In 2022, Data.AI ranked TikTok as the No. 2 app for driving consumer spending worldwide, and it was the third most downloaded app.

U.s. Tiktok Ban Implications For Small Businesses And Creators

A TikTok ban could have negative implications, such as reduced clientele and opportunity for brand deals and layoffs of their staff, for small business owners, some of whom have TikTok virality to thank for driving sales or launching their careers.

Goldman Sachs reported the creator economy is expected to grow to $480 billion by 2027, but a TikTok ban may alter this number, and the salaries of creators who have built million-dollar empires through social media could plummet.

Other Countries’ Bans On Tiktok

Other countries have taken their own stance against TikTok. India was the first country to ban TikTok–and other Chinese apps–on all of its devices. Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, the European Union and Scotland have bans surrounding the use of TikTok on state devices.