Sanctions and checks on TikTok, a globally popular Chinese video-sharing platform, have been imposed by the United States, Europe, and Asian countries.

In the United States, which competes with China for digital business, there are a variety of reasons for sanctions, including national security.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce summoned TikTok CEO Chu Shou yesterday local time to focus on concerns that TikTok collects users' data, sends it to China, and spreads pro-China propaganda.

TikTok, a subsidiary of China's ByteDance, is an application for sharing short video forms and is popular among young people, including teenagers.

Last month, the White House issued instructions to all federal agencies to remove TikTok from government-issued phones within 30 days.



Enlarge the image

▲ Chu Shouzu, CEO of TikTok


Canada followed the U.S. in banning TikTok last month from all government-registered devices, citing high security risks.

India first banned TikTok in 2020, and in January 2021, it permanently banned more than 1 Chinese apps, including TikTok and messaging app WeChat.

Taiwan, which confronts China over the Taiwan Strait, banned TikTok in the public sector in December last year and is considering expanding it to the private sector.

The European Commission and the European Parliament banned TikTok on business devices last month, and governments of individual EU member states, such as Belgium and Denmark, have joined the ban.

The UK government has also banned TikTok on work devices, saying "security of sensitive government information is a priority," and Australia and New Zealand have also banned employees from departments such as the Department of Defence.

TikTok denies the security threat.

"We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government," Chu said at the hearing, emphasizing that "ByteDance is not an agency member of China or any other country."

(Photo=AP, Yonhap News)