No, TikTok is not banned in China, it just isn't available under the same name. Although it is true that TikTok is not available for download in mainland China, it is not banned. The Chinese version of TikTok is actually the original version of the app, called
TikTok has been banned on government devices in various countries out of a concern the app's owner, China-based ByteDance, is sharing users' private data with the Chinese government, raising concerns about how much longer many people around the globe will be able to access the app.
Why are governments banning TikTok? It all comes down to China. Lawmakers and regulators in the West have increasingly expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, may put sensitive user data, like location information, into the hands of the Chinese government.
In what appears to be a first, a former employee of ByteDance, TikTok's Beijing-based parent company, has outlined specific claims that the Chinese Communist Party accessed the data of TikTok users on a broad scale, and for political purposes.
The FBI's Wray has also said U.S. operations of TikTok raise national security concerns because the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.
As of April 2023, at least 34 (of 50) states have announced or enacted bans on state government agencies, employees, and contractors using TikTok on government-issued devices. State bans only affect government employees and do not prohibit civilians from having or using the app on their personal devices.
The real issue, though, comes over time. Because the app would no longer exist on the App Store and Play Store, it wouldn't receive future software updates. Your particular TikTok app will be frozen in time, forever staying on the last version available before the ban went into effect.
I'm a senior writer covering social media and online culture. TikTok's Project Texas is focused on cordoning off American user data from China. Lawmakers have expressed doubts that such a firewall is technically possible.
WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS ABOUT TIKTOK? Both the FBI and officials at the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance could share TikTok user data — such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers — with China's authoritarian government.
Fact: TikTok's parent company ByteDance Ltd. was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, but today, roughly sixty percent of the company is beneficially owned by global institutional investors such as Carlyle Group, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group.
Instead, there's a different version of TikTok — a sister app called Douyin. Both are owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, but Douyin launched before TikTok and became a viral sensation in China. Its powerful algorithm became the foundation for TikTok and is key to its global success.
Why TikTok is getting banned by governments — and what it means for users Back to video. In February 2023, the Canadian government moved to ban the use of TikTok on all government devices; some provinces and cities have since followed suit.
WHY DOES WASHINGTON SAY TIKTOK IS A THREAT? TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives. ByteDance is based in Beijing but registered in the Cayman Islands, as is common for privately owned Chinese companies.
The U.S. already bans the application on federal and public sector employees' phones and on state employees' phones in 32 of 50 states. Several states have also recently sued TikTok.
China. YouTube was first blocked in China for over five months from October 16, 2007 to March 22, 2008. It was blocked again from March 24, 2009, although a Foreign Ministry spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny whether YouTube had been blocked. Since then, YouTube has been inaccessible from mainland China.
Social media app TikTok has been banned on government electronic devices, the Cabinet Office has announced today. The ban comes after Cabinet Office Ministers ordered a security review.
Members of Congress accused TikTok of collecting user data, failing to moderate content, putting minors at risk, and providing the Chinese government with access to private user information. All social media platforms, from Meta to Google and Twitter, collect user data.
A 2022 study by Consumer Reports found that TikTok is using the same data-tracking practices as Facebook/Meta and others– collecting information about your online and offline activities: your location, what other websites you're visiting, and what links you click on.
YouTube Shorts: One of the most popular TikTok alternatives. Huddles: A free app with a great variety of content. Lomotif: One of the few video-sharing platforms with a wide range of editing tools. Snapchat: A user-friendly app to share videos with others.
For a long time, TikTok insisted any data collected by their servers could not be accessed by anyone in China. In November 2022, the company changed its privacy policy. It now said staff in China could access data.
Data-driven algorithm and intrusive tracking
Scroll through its feed long enough and you'll be bombarded with content carefully chosen for you. That's because TikTok uses a sophisticated algorithm to gather a vast amount of users' data, both inside and outside the app, to build an accurate profile.
China is turning a major part of its internal Internet-data surveillance network outward, mining Western social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to equip its government agencies, military and police with information on foreign targets, according to a Washington Post review of hundreds of Chinese bidding documents ...
December 30, 2022: A revised ban is issued which restricts TikTok from the mobile devices of all federal government employees. Some exceptions are made for research and law enforcement purposes. March 1, 2023: The US House Foreign Affairs Committee votes to give President Biden approval to ban TikTok.
Among non-users, 65% say the app is a security threat, including 36% who view it as a major threat. Among TikTok users, just 9% see it as a major threat and about one-third say it's a minor threat. The Pew survey was conducted May 15-21, 2023.