TikTok ban: Why does the US want to shut down this app?

TikTok plans to shut UD operations of its social media app on Sunday when a federal ban is set to take effect, barring a last-minute reprieve, people familiar with the matter said. The app is used by 170 million Americans.

President-elect Donald Trump said in July last year that he will not allow TikTok to be banned.

Here is a detailed list of US allegations against the company and its parent, ByteDance.

TikTok management is beholden to the Chinese government

FBI Director Chris Wray has said TikTok poses a national security risk, adding that Chinese companies are required to essentially "do whatever the Chinese government wants them to in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government."

Members of Congress have complained the Chinese government has a "golden share" in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok. TikTok has said "an entity affiliated with the Chinese government owns 1% of a ByteDance subsidiary, Douyin Information Service," and says the holding "has no bearing on ByteDance's global operations outside of China, including TikTok."

TikTok could be used to influence Americans 

The FBI's Wray has also said US operations of TikTok raise national security concerns because the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.

Risks include "the possibility that the Chinese government could use (TikTok) to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations," Wray told US lawmakers.

Former National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone said in March 2023 he was worried about the data TikTok collects, the algorithm used to disperse information to users, and "the control of who has the algorithm."

He asserted the TikTok platform could enable sweeping influence operations because TikTok could proactively influence users and could also "turn off the message."

TikTok says it "does not permit any government to influence or change its recommendation model."

In its decision upholding the law, a three-judge federal appeals court panel said: "The multi-year efforts of both political branches to investigate the national security risks posed by the TikTok platform, and to consider potential remedies proposed by TikTok, weigh heavily in favor of the (law)."

TikTok will hand Americans' data over to Chinese government 

Lawmakers have alleged that the Chinese government, under a 2017 National Intelligence law, can force ByteDance to share TikTok user data. TikTok argues that because it is incorporated in California and Delaware, it is subject to U.S. laws and regulations.