TikTok and the Spider’s Web

The US President Donald Trump has given ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, a 75-day reprieve. During this extended timeframe, the company must divest its Chinese stake to a US-approved buyer to avert a ban. The primary concern surrounding TikTok is that China could compel ByteDance to provide the Chinese intelligence agency with user data stored by the app.

Despite the looming cyber security risk, Americans continue to dance to the tune of TikTok. Last year, more than 40% of the Company’s ad revenue came from the United States. Ahead of a potential TikTok ban, China has launched a new app in the US called RedNote, which has already garnered millions of American TikTok users. I recall when PM Modi imposed a ban on TikTok, Indians responded with widespread support by voluntarily uninstalling the app from their devices.

Some argue that banning foreign mobile apps impedes capital inflows and affects domestic employment opportunities. Yes, I agree. But that does not mean we should ignore national security interests in a quest for foreign investments! Some contend that these bans curtail freedom of expression and can lead to thought control. Well, yes! It could be a boon or a bane. Only within a democratic framework, these policy tools can safeguard citizens’ rights and freedom in the true sense.

India was the first country to comprehend the perils of the Chinese app, thereby leading to a ban on TikTok way back in mid-2020. Several nations, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand have recently banned TikTok, albeit only from government- devices. Indian military agencies have prohibited the use of Chinese smartphones by their personnel and their families following the discovery of malware and spyware on these devices. In the last five years, the Indian Government has blocked over 400 Chinese apps on the grounds of national integrity, security, and public interest.

An investigation conducted by Forbes in March 2023 found that ByteDance employees can still access the sensitive data of former Indian TikTok users. The report also revealed that ByteDance had been spying on the journalists reporting on TikTok by accessing their IP addresses and other digital data to identify the employees leaking internal corporate information to the press.

Experts claim that India’s abrupt ban on TikTok resulted in a loss of control over the data TikTok had already gained. Therefore, the US may now consider buying a stake in TikTok rather than imposing a blanket ban on the app to control the past data and avoid repeating India’s mistake! But didn’t their President Biden already grant the Chinese a year to put their “backup” plan in place?

China’s Lawfare strengthens data collection activities by compelling Chinese companies to store data within China and provide access to their intelligence agencies. The laws require Chinese businesses to incorporate backdoors into China-made devices and apps. The stringent Chinese laws oblige every Chinese citizen or entity to cooperate with the government in counter-espionage efforts. Given the legal framework and ByteDance’s Chinese status, the company cannot be immune from data-sharing requirements.

A naive citizen might wonder, what’s a big deal if the Chinese are amassing name-place-animal-thing? The data scattered around social media may look trivial. However, with data analysis, one can identify obscured patterns and underlying meanings that would otherwise be difficult to discern. The data compilation of a key person’s family and friend circle, IP address, location, browsing history, health issues and spending patterns can help China exploit bigwigs to obtain political, strategic or military advantage in its warfare. Therefore, using devices and apps made in countries hostile to India is like granting them free access to vital information and risking security.

As far as China is concerned, the country has a long history of restricting foreign influence. The wall country has long banned foreign apps, including Google, Amazon, WhatsApp, X and Instagram. The country has developed its own version of social media guarded by the Great Firewall that ensures foreign media is either filtered, altered, or completely blocked. It is also taking measures to protect the chinese teenagers by limiting their online gaming hours, while simultaneously launching attractive online games and interactive platforms to the world-youth, which suck in their attention and affect their studies, mental and physical health.

In a leaked speech in August 2013, the Chinese President said, “We must meticulously do foreign propaganda work well… Many people and especially the young basically do not look at mainstream media, the majority of information is obtained online.. We must face this fact squarely, expand strengths and inputs, grasp the initiative on this public opinion battlefield as quickly as possible.. We must truly become experts and old hands at using modern media, new means…” Subsequently, China launched the “Digital Silk Road” initiative, providing internet connectivity, cloud computing, and building smart cities with AI-enabled surveillance technologies in developing countries to shape the global information system. And soon, China introduced social media apps with malware/spyware, games like Pokemon Go and PUBG with geo-positioning technology that tracks the user devices, surveillance technologies connected to Chinese servers, news apps like NewsBreak to spread fake narratives, video-sharing apps that circulate doctored images and videos to launch public opinion struggle and so on; harvesting more and more data, a key to its propaganda efforts!

This Chinese tactic reminds me of a spider’s web - a spider simply spun a “silk web” and waits for a fool to fall into its “net”.

(The author is a foreign affairs expert. Views personal.)