Technology

TikTok’s Chinese Ownership Adds to Scrutiny in Taiwan Vote

  • Officials have barred the app from most government devices
  • Taiwan election in January could influence US-China relations
Participants in a CoFacts workshop, discussing how to fact check sources and news in Keelung, Taiwan on July 9th.Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Scroll through TikTok in Taiwan, and you’ll find a rolling stream of videos covering the heated campaign for next January’s presidential election.

That’s making the island the next battleground in the war over political disinformation and the debate over whether China’s government can manipulate the popular app to its advantage — a concern shared in Washington ahead of the 2024 US election.