Sébastien Le Belzic, edited by Alexandre Dalifard
modified to
09:09, March 01, 2023
TikTok, the online video application developed by a Chinese company, is accused of passing certain information from its users to its government. Faced with this, after the European Commission, it is the turn of Canada and Washington to prohibit the use of the social network to its staff.
After the European Commission, it is the turn of Canada and the US federal government to ban its staff from using TikTok. The online video application developed by a Chinese company is accused of passing certain information of its users to the Chinese government. Beijing on Tuesday criticized this decision which further closes the American market to its tech companies.
A national security risk
It is a new nugget of Chinese tech that is in the crosshairs. After Huawei’s phones, DJI’s drones and Xiaomi’s cameras, it’s TikTok’s turn to be banned from use by US officials. Washington highlights the risk to national security, which Beijing has obviously criticized via the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “As the largest country in the world, the United States is so afraid of an app popular with young people that it actually lacks trust,” she said.
But the paradox is that TikTok is also banned in China where Byte Dance, the parent company, has created a version 100% compatible with the communist regime. The platform is called Douyin, which can be translated into French as “music that shakes”. If Beijing is not afraid of spying on data, it fears on the other hand the brutalization of the masses. The government thus promotes all kinds of educational videos on Douyin and censors with a vengeance those considered violent or too erotic. But in the end, it’s always the same people who make the audience.