The tone goes up since Friday against the social network group’s international chinese ByteDance, after weeks of threats and pressure.
The phenomenal success of the TikTok, a billion users in the world, is gnash the teeth Donald Trump. The american president will “take action in the coming days,” against multiple applications-related enterprises in china, including TikTok, said on Sunday its chief of diplomacy, Mike Pompeo.
“The president, Donald Trump has said ‘enough is enough’ (…), so it will take measures in the coming days in response to a variety of risks to national security posed by the software linked to the chinese communist Party,” said Pompeo on Fox News. This could lead to the banning of TikTok, a measure already announced by Donald Trump, but suspended to a takeover offer by Microsoft. How an application used by the under 25 years of age for short dance videos is-she found herself at the heart of such a geopolitical conflict ?
links troubles with the chinese power
The video-sharing platform light, usually musical, and humorous, account of a billion users in the world, especially young people. But in China, its parent company ByteDance operates an app on the same principle, but separate, with a different name. TikTok has been designed for the international market. Gold its american branch must be sold or retained in the United States due to concerns for national security, warned on Sunday the us secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, on ABC.
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In a context of political tensions and trade with China, which Washington accuses since months the interface can be used by the information chinese, for monitoring purposes. TikTok has always firmly denied any sharing of data with Beijing.
in Early July, the application has interrupted its activity in Hong Kong because of the recent law on the national security imposed by China, which gives more powers to the police, in particular in the field of surveillance. “Imagine that the Chinese would be late on this type of techniques, it is delusional. They are on the contrary in advance in terms of surveillance society”, stresses from The Express Fabrice Epelboin, professor at Sciences-Po in Paris and a specialist in informational war.
The republican american wind standing
Many elected republicans are mounted to the niche against the TikTok, on the question of the collection of personal data of its users, but not only. In a letter dated July 28, several of them, including the senator of Florida Marco Rubio, have accused the application of censoring certain content, such as a video denouncing the fate of the Uighurs in China.
According to Mike Pompeo, networks such as WeChat or TikTok “send data directly to it (to their users) the chinese communist Party”, including “their address, their phone number, their friends, their contacts.” “For a long time, the United States have just said, okay, if one likes, or if businesses make money with, we are going to tolerate”, he added.
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Steven Mnuchin recalled that the CFIUS, the agency of his ministry in charge of ensuring that foreign investment does not pose a risk to the security of the country, investigating TikTok. “The agency agrees on the fact that TikTok can not stay in the current format because it may send information about 100 million Americans,” he said.
He also spoke with the leaders, democrats in the House of representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer in the Senate. “We agree on the fact that change is needed. Force a sale or block the app. Everyone agrees that it can not exist as such”.
Microsoft’s offer as a white flag ?
Sunday, the u.s. giant of the it was confirmed that negotiations were underway to buy the branch US of TikTok to his house-chinese mother, and that they will continue after a discussion with Donald Trump. Microsoft “appreciates the importance of responding to the concerns of the president,” wrote the company in a press release, hoping that the talks will succeed at the latest on 15 September.
in recent months, the social network has attempted to demonstrate that its identity and its practice were firmly rooted in the United States. On the 1st of June, Kevin Mayer, the former head of the platforms of streaming Disney (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+), has taken the head of the platform. “We are not going anywhere,” responded Saturday, Vanessa Pappas, head of the branch United States of TikTok, in a video to reassure the users, after the announcement of the ban by Donald Trump. She said she was “proud” of the 1,500 u.s. employees and has promised to create 10 000 additional jobs in this country over the next three years”.
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“The United States would be the big losers if TikTok had been banned,” said Saturday, Daniel Castro, vice-president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a think tank close to the the giants of the tech. If the deal takes place, Microsoft will own and lead the social network in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Minority shareholders will be able to join the operation. “Microsoft will ensure that all data of u.s. users of TikTok are transferred to, and remain in the United States,” promised the company of Seattle.
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A sovereignty digital assumed by the Americans, that by mirror effect speaks also of the place taken by the China “in this game” the algorithms,” explains Fabrice Epelboin : “through them, the Americans are still, for the moment, the agents of transformation of the world. There was a time when it is the Chinese who protected themselves through a great wall of digital. Now, it is the West that protects. It is a turning point”.
