In a landmark hearing before Congress on March 23, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced intense scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers about the wildly popular social media app and its alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party. Chew repeatedly denied the allegations and said he “disagrees with the characterization” that TikTok is spying on American users. He also claimed the company is “committed” to protecting U.S. user data from foreign intrusion.
However, in December 2022, Bytedance, TikTok’s parent company, did confirm it used TikTok to monitor the physical location of journalists using their IP addresses. This included journalists from Forbes following a series of stories exposing the company’s ongoing links to China.
But the debate about whether TikTok should be banned in the United States largely ignores broader issues around data accessibility, privacy and Chinese espionage. The marketplace for buying and selling data collected by internet companies is unregulated and can be predatory, yet, it’s often legal. A ban on TikTok would, at best, act as a bandaid rather than a solution to this problem. To get to the heart of the issue, Americans need a deeper understanding of how their data is being manipulated by companies in ways that allow foreign and anonymous entities like the Chinese Communist Party to obtain private information at a cost. Without protective legislation in place, every day Americans are at risk of being targeted and spied-on.
In this documentary, Forbes takes a look at the main issues surrounding TikTok and U.S. national security, how TikTok has operated in other countries, and what the implications would be to the economy and U.S./China relations if a ban were to be enforced.
0:00 Introduction
2:33 U.S. national security concerns about TikTok
3:28 China’s tools for spying
4:47 The power of TikTok’s reach in the U.S.
5:44 YouTube’s algorithm vs TikTok’s
6:16 How the surveillance advertising business works
9:45 The relationship between Bytedance and TikTok
11:42 Does TikTok shadowban or promote certain content?
13:46 TikTok in Russia versus Ukraine during the war
15:36 2022 French Presidential Election and TikTok
16:54 What happened when Bytedance spied on Forbes journalists?
18:36 TikTok’s ability to monitor typing and keystrokes
19:29 Codewords to get around TikTok’s content suppression
20:17 China’s strategy for TikTok public relations
21:07 The aftermath of India’s 2020 TikTok ban
24:36 What would be at risk if the U.S. bans TikTok?
25:35 Illuminating TikTok’s influence on small and mid-size businesses
27:20 So, should TikTok be banned?
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