As the TikTok security saga nears its end, the Biden administration has drafted a preliminary agreement with the Chinese-owned video app. However, there are still many issues with the proposed agreement, including how much TikTok would change to protect user data. The deal, however, would allow TikTok to continue to operate in the United States while maintaining its Chinese ownership.
ByteDance is majority owner of TikTok
The US government is looking into whether to ban the popular video-sharing app, TikTok. The Chinese parent company, ByteDance, owns a majority stake in the app and has plans to sell off the rest. The company has received a lot of negative press, but that has not stopped it from attracting new investors. Its new investors include Oracle Corp. and Walmart, but there is a chance that the ban will be delayed for a week.
Microsoft wanted to purchase TikTok but ByteDance was unwilling to sell to the company. They wanted to retain control over the American operations, data, source code and algorithm. They offered an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion to buy the company. ByteDance, however, saw Oracle as a better partner and a more trustworthy co-owner. Microsoft also wanted to expand its reach in China and Japan, but ByteDance did not feel that it could meet their demands.
Regardless of the deal, ByteDance has a history of defending its products and services. While the company’s executive team has been a vocal critic of the Chinese government, ByteDance has defended the platform and its founders in the US.
The application has exploded in popularity across the world. It was the first non-Facebook application to reach three billion users. The company has also found success in the United States, where it has attracted 90 million monthly active users. In the US alone, the app has been downloaded over one billion times. Its revenue is expected to reach $5.5 billion by 2022.
ByteDance has been heavily scrutinized by China’s media companies. A subsidiary of ByteDance, Douyin, operates the country’s regional equivalent of TikTok. The Chinese government controls one of three seats on the subsidiary’s board of directors. Beijing has long exercised extreme social media censorship.
ByteDance is owned by a nation
ByteDance is a company with Chinese roots that runs several content platforms. The company considers itself an artificial intelligence company, with its algorithms learning from repeat user interactions. The company says it adheres to Chinese laws, but the question remains: is this the case?
ByteDance has also given a board seat to a government official. The deal comes at a time when the Chinese government has tightened its grip on the technology industry. It has launched investigations into several of the country’s biggest internet companies and recently introduced draft rules aimed at strengthening data security.
While ByteDance is currently owned by a nation, its data is not centralized. Instead, the data is shared with the Chinese government. The Chinese government has the right to access the data of any citizen or company it wants. It will be up to the CFIUS to balance these pressures. It is uncertain when they will make their decision.
In December of last year, ByteDance announced that it had 1.9 billion monthly active users. A spokesperson for the company told the BBC that the figures are true. However, the company has come under scrutiny from governments around the world, including the US and China. In the US, President Biden signed an executive order to protect user information. His predecessor, Donald Trump, had signed a similar executive order, which was eventually revoked.
The man behind ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, is one of China’s richest people. He lives in Beijing, where ByteDance has its headquarters. Beijing is also the home of the Chinese Communist Party, so the company may have to share some data with the CCP.
TikTok does not share personal data with the Chinese government
TikTok is a Chinese company, and it has been warned by cybersecurity experts that it is possible for the Chinese government to access personal data collected by users. This includes in-app messages and even precise device locations. TikTok collects vast amounts of data, including users’ calendars and hard drives. It also geolocates devices on an hourly basis.
As a result, a Senate subcommittee on privacy, cybersecurity, and other national security has pressed TikTok to explain its practices to the committee. Republican senators, including Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, have voiced concerns over the Chinese government’s access to personal data. TikTok responded to the committee in late June, stating that it does not share personal data with the Chinese government.
TikTok collects information about users when they create accounts. This data includes the device used, location, Internet address, type of device, age, and gender. This data helps TikTok better target advertising and understand user behavior. It also tracks how users interact with advertisers.
The company has long maintained that it does not share personal data with the Chinese government. However, it has faced accusations from private companies that Chinese officials are collecting information about Americans. This has led to an investigation that is ongoing. TikTok is now working to implement a system to ensure that TikTok does not share any information with the Chinese government.
While TikTok denies sharing personal data with the Chinese government, the company is working with Oracle to keep user information secure in its U.S. data centres. Furthermore, the company limits access to the user data by its employees. The company is also working to ensure that its security team is capable of dealing with potential cyber threats.