TikTok, the Chinese social video app, has come a long way since its founding in 2012 by entrepreneur Zhang Yimin. In 2017, ByteDance acquired Musical.ly for $1 billion and merged it with TikTok, creating a platform where users could share a variety of videos, from dance moves to kitchen food preparation. The app quickly grew in popularity, with viral hits such as Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” gaining traction on TikTok. However, concerns about national security and privacy began to surface.
In September 2019, reports emerged about the absence of content related to Hong Kong protests on TikTok, leading to suspicions of censorship. US politicians raised alarms about the app’s influence, prompting investigations into its Chinese ownership. The Pentagon banned TikTok from military phones, citing security concerns. Despite these issues, TikTok continued to rise in popularity, becoming the second-most downloaded app in the world by December 2019.
By July 2020, India had banned TikTok and other Chinese apps following a border clash with China. President Donald Trump also threatened to ban TikTok in the US, issuing executive orders to block transactions with ByteDance and requiring the company to divest its US operations. Potential acquisitions by Microsoft, Oracle, and Walmart fell through, leading to legal battles between TikTok and the Trump administration. TikTok sued for alleged due process violations, and the deadlines imposed by Trump were eventually extended.
In February 2021, newly-elected President Joe Biden postponed legal cases related to the ban on TikTok, providing temporary relief for the app. Despite ongoing controversies, TikTok’s user base continued to grow, with over a billion monthly active users reported in September 2021. Concerns about harmful content on the platform led to the implementation of new rules in February 2022 to mitigate the spread of damaging material.
TikTok faced further scrutiny in June 2022 when reports surfaced about ByteDance employees accessing user data and concerns about Chinese authorities potentially accessing US user data. FBI Director Chris Wrap raised national security concerns, warning about potential manipulation of TikTok’s algorithm for influence operations. By December 2022, the FBI and FCC warned about the risks of data sharing with the Chinese government, leading to government agencies being instructed to delete TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices.
In early 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced tough questions from legislators at a congressional hearing, pushing back on accusations that TikTok was a tool of the Chinese government. The platform made changes to restrict access to tools used by researchers, leading to further scrutiny. By March 2024, a bill to ban or force the sale of TikTok to a US company gained momentum in Congress, culminating in President Biden signing the bill into law after it passed in the House and Senate. The future of TikTok remains uncertain as it navigates ongoing challenges related to national security and user privacy.
