The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. Chinese company Bytedance, led by a US citizen and owner of a video app, born in the east, this week asked U.S. companies Google and Apple to withdraw the app from platforms in Hong Kong, after Beijing deliberately enforced national security law in the Chinese Special Administrative Region.
The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. The Chinese application, which allows users to make a video with a maximum of 15 seconds, present in 155 countries and territories and with more than 800 million daily active users, also announced that it suspended the platform in Hong Kong due to the new security law national. This increases the powers of control of the local security authorities over the city and its citizens.
The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. Days earlier, Facebook, Google and Twitter reported that they would no longer respond to requests for information regarding their users requested by China or the Hong Kong authorities. Out of respect for freedoms.
The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. Meanwhile, in the US, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced this week that the country is considering banning the use of Chinese applications on social media, including Tik Tok. Justification: the company shares user information with the Beijing Government.
The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. Beijing officials deny any connection to or access to company user data.
The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. In a note sent to the Reuters news agency, the company reaffirmed that it has no higher priority than “promoting a safe user experience”. “We never provided user data to the Chinese Government, nor would we do so if requested,” said CEO Kevin Mayer, from Disney.
The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. Since the end of 2019, the US military has banned the military from using the application. For national security reasons.
The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. First ZTE, then Huawei, now Tik Tok. All Chinese companies. Technological area. Under strong American attack. Washington’s trade war with Beijing is just that, too. A must and must of trade scales. Of money. Where conveniently the argument for the defense of freedoms and human rights comes in. But it is much more than that. It has a long reach. It’s power. It is a new struggle for hegemony. For world leadership. The clock does not stop. Tik tok, tik tok. The fight will continue.
*Executive Editor of PLATAFORMA
