A US TikTok Ban May Not Be a Huge Loss for China
The company and its foreign investors will lose out, but Beijing has plenty of options — legal and illegal — to access the personal information of American citizens.
This ban will only hurt the US.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
The demise of TikTok in the US is now more likely than ever after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would force ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese owner of TikTok, to sell up or face a ban. While this development has caused frenzied speculation about the future of the popular app, freedom of speech, and potential buyers, China’s reaction has been uncharacteristically restrained.
Other than accusing the US of “bullying,” Beijing has not threatened retaliation or escalated its anti-American propaganda. It is likely that China is holding back its vitriol because the legislation could die in the Senate, where passage remains uncertain.