What the TikTok ban means for US-China competition

TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was banned in the United States on January 19, preventing millions of users from accessing the popular video platform.

The app was removed from app stores, including those operated by Apple and Google, and TikTok's website told users that they would no longer have access to the platform. The shutdown began hours before a federal law requiring TikTok to be banned was set to take effect.

What happens after the TikTok ban will have major consequences for the global technology competition between China and the United States and could determine incoming President Donald Trump's relationship with Beijing.

The video platform is China's first global app and has outperformed US-owned rivals such as Instagram, Facebook and X.

The issue of Chinese ownership is what put TikTok in the crosshairs of the US Congress, which in April 2024 passed a law addressing national security concerns, including the spread of disinformation and espionage. The law required ByteDance to sell the app by January 19 or face a ban.

While critics of the ban say similar data and privacy concerns exist for US social media platforms, the issue of Chinese ownership adds a new dimension.

Cybersecurity firms have suggested that the app is capable of collecting user data beyond what content they view on TikTok, and China passed a law in 2017 that forces Chinese citizens living abroad to cooperate with its intelligence apparatus.

In 2023, a British journalist said her data and location were tracked by TikTok employees in China and the US. US court documents from a former ByteDance employee also describe how the Chinese Communist Party accessed the company's data to spy on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in 2018.

All of this is happening amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington as well as growing concerns about Chinese espionage and hacking in the US.

Trump has signaled his opposition to the ban, having initially supported such a move. He said on January 17 that his decision on TikTok “will be made in the not-too-distant future.” He also revealed that he had spoken with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and that TikTok was discussed, among other things.

Trump's previous term as president, from 2016 to 2020, was characterized by a tough stance toward China and targeting Chinese companies in China and abroad, from 5G telecommunications infrastructure to surveillance camera firms. This tough stance came in the context of a deepening technological race between Beijing and Washington.

TikTok is the international version of ByteDance’s Douyin, which serves markets in Hong Kong and China and is subject to Beijing’s strict censorship apparatus. While it is a successful business, its popularity and influence have given Beijing a global boost. ByteDance’s reluctance to change ownership shows the value it places on the algorithm it created and that TikTok remains a Chinese company.