Distrust of TikTok is exported well. In Taiwan, the authorities suspect the application of having created a subsidiary in the territory illegally, reports the Reuters agency, this Monday, December 19, 2022. Simultaneously, the Chinese platform is trying to reduce its dependence on the parent company, ByteDance .
An advertising subsidiary?
The investigation would concern “illegal business operations”, according to the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council. The app is accused of having created a subsidiary dedicated to advertising on the island, according to the local newspaper Liberty Times. However, the legislative texts specify that no form of advertising can be conducted by social networks managed from the continent in order to prevent any espionage or interference.
“In recent years, China has used short video platforms like TikTok to conduct cognitive operations and infiltration against other countries. There is a high risk that the Chinese government collects users’ personal information”points out the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council.
For its part, TikTok told AFP that “recent reports suggesting that ByteDance has set up a subsidiary in Taiwan are incorrect”. The platform does not provide any details or elements to support its statements.
TikTok tries to reduce its Chinese dependency
For several months, the Chinese application has been in the sights of regulators in the United States and Europe. The supposed links between ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, and the Chinese authorities are thus regularly criticized.
In an attempt to evade sanctions, TikTok is trying to distance itself from the Middle Kingdom. According to information from wall street journal, the platform reportedly transferred key executives to Singapore and the United States. Similarly, the recruitment of personnel and engineers outside of China would increase, especially in the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States and other Southeast Asian markets. In total, the Chinese app employs more than 20,000 people around the globe.