Chinese diplomats and state media relentlessly criticize Western politicians seeking to ban TikTok, in contrast to the continued silence from parent company ByteDance.
According to the South China Morning Post , TikTok is facing a new wave of political backlash in some of its major international markets, as the US, Canada and the European Union (EU) all move to ban the app. on government devices. The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on March 1 passed a bill giving US President Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok nationwide.
Currently, TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, has remained silent on the matter, while a TikTok representative said it was “disappointed” that the US “rushed law” could “have an impact”. negatively affect the freedom of expression of millions of Americans who are using and loving” the app.
Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the EU, tweeted on the evening of March 1 that he was “very disappointed”, adding that the EU should “respect the principles of the market economy and fair competition”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning also said on the same day that the EU’s decision to ban government employees from using TikTok “undermines global trust in the EU’s business environment”. A day earlier, Ms. Mao Ning said the US government had “too much abused the concept of national security and abused state power to suppress foreign companies”, after setting a 30-day deadline to remove it. TikTok from federal devices.
TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi is expected to testify at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing later this month, in an attempt to assuage growing concerns from some US lawmakers. about TikTok’s data security and alleged links to the Chinese government.
Chinese state media also voiced support for TikTok, saying the US ban was motivated by concerns about TikTok challenging US internet giants. “It can be seen that if the US does not pursue and inhibit the growth of TikTok in the relevant market, some of the leading US tech and networking companies will not be affected to varying degrees.” , wrote Ding Gang senior editor of People’s Daily .
In another article, the Global Times quoted some Chinese analysts as saying that the US lawmakers’ decision to push back on TikTok was to “serve a political purpose to bring down China and Chinese companies”.
Xiang Ligang, general manager of the Information Consumption Alliance in Beijing, described the US ban on TikTok on federal devices as a “discriminatory policy” without any proof. Meanwhile, Liu Dingding, an independent technology analyst, said that the EU ban could shake the confidence of investors in the future, especially those from China.
Many Chinese netizens have compared Washington’s TikTok ban to China’s ban on foreign apps like Facebook and Twitter. A user named Dagutou on Weibo wrote that “the US is more like us now” when it comes to blocking apps. Another Weibo user questioned if “America is the strongest country in the world, as it seems so weak right now that its national security can be challenged by just one app.” .