‘A show of force between the US and China’: What’s behind America’s TikTok controversy and what does it mean for Switzerland?

Manuel P. Nappo (52), president of the University of Digital Business Institute, says that the Tiktok ban in the USA looks quite realistic, as both the House of Representatives and President Joe Biden (81) have shown support for the relevant measures. Applied Sciences Economics Zurich (HWZ). “This is muscle flexing between America and China.” You see this in the MPs’ arguments as well; TikTok is positioned as a threat to America’s national security. If the US Congress gets away with this, 170 million Americans will be disconnected from TikTok.

Banning TikTok is technically feasible by removing the app from app stores and blocking its use in the US. However, tech-savvy users can use tools such as VPNs (virtual private networks) to bypass such restrictions, making it difficult to fully enforce the ban.

If the US Congress gets rid of this, it will set a precedent. It later serves as a template for other countries that want to restrict TikTok. Also Switzerland and Europe? Nappo thinks this is unlikely. “Interestingly, Europe is less worried than America,” he says.

But the interesting thing is that the world of technology is no longer untouchable. The development of new technologies remained uncontrolled for a long time. However, in recent years the political obstacles that companies must comply with have been increasingly reduced. This also applies to the European Parliament’s recently published AI regulations.

The US Congress is particularly concerned about the data. Suspicion: Bytedance is in cahoots with the Chinese government and is transferring sensitive user data of millions of American citizens to the government in Beijing. There is no unfounded doubt.

For years, Tiktok claimed that it stored all the data of American and European users in America and Singapore. However, in the summer of 2022, statements from “Buzzfeed” revealed that all data could also be viewed in China. “Everything can be viewed in China,” a TikTok employee said during a meeting in September 2021. The conversation was leaked and audio recordings are available on “Buzzfeed.”

St. Katarina Stanoevska from the University of St. Gallen joins the data discussion. “Since user data remains on Chinese servers and authorities can access it, there is a risk that the data could be misused to track both Chinese and other users.” Stanoevska told Blick last year that only a TikTok ban could completely eliminate the risk of abuse by Chinese authorities.

“That’s the $1 million question,” Nappo says. Because the starting position is not easy. “Eventually it will have to be one of the big players, but A) it will be expensive and B) you also take on the geopolitics.” The new owner would also face tensions between China and the United States. “It’s unclear to me who would want this, except maybe Elon Musk,” the expert said.

There is also the US Competition Commission. “Of course, there are platforms whose business model is similar, but the question arises whether these will be blocked by antitrust law due to possible market advantages,” Nappo says. For many people this purchase will be very sensitive and their interest will probably be quite limited.

After all: Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (61) has expressed interest. He wants to bring together a group of investors to buy TikTok. It is not yet known who will be there.