THE SQUIZ
The Biden administration has called on social media giant TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell their stake in the business prompting the company to hit back. There’s been no official statement, but reports that surfaced yesterday say the US Government has threatened to ban the app in the US entirely if Beijing-based ByteDance doesn’t sell up. That comes after the White House upped the ante last month when it gave all federal agencies 30 days to clear the app off work devices over increasing data/national security fears.

WHAT DOES TIKTOK SAY?
It’s not for selling… A spokeswoman said it wouldn’t change much, and the best way to address concerns would be “transparent” and “robust third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification”. TikTok says it’s been working on those things with the US Justice Department since last year to update the platform’s data safeguards for America’s 100 million users. But reports say there have been growing concerns on the US side that it wouldn’t go far enough. As for TikTok, a US-wide ban would be a massive blow… That’s because its bread and butter is its 834 million monthly users worldwide, many of whom are young and not concerned about data harvesting. But if the US jumps, it could trigger similar actions across other Western countries, which would massively hit TikTok’s drive for users and revenue. So, with the company rejecting the government’s push to sell, its chief executive Shou Zi Chew is in for it when he appears in front of Congress on 23 March.

WHAT’S THIS REALLY ABOUT?
Essentially, officials are worried TikTok’s parent company ByteDance could give user data – like browsing history and location – to the Chinese Government. There are also concerns it could manipulate users by pushing propaganda and misinformation on China’s behalf. Republican Mike McCaul (chairman of the powerful House Foreign Relations Committee) says he’s concerned data is going straight to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to use for “their malign activities”. ”Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP a backdoor to all their personal information,” he said. Speaking of managing threats from China, PM Anthony Albanese was also looking to alleviate some security-related tension yesterday… He said former Labor PM Paul Keating “diminished” himself when he slammed the AUKUS security pact on Wednesday. Keating tore strips off Albanese’s ministers for misreading China, saying it’s not seeking to impose its ideology on the world.