China on Thursday slammed the US’ proposed ban on Chinese social media website TikTok, calling the move “robber’s logic.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during his press conference that the bill “puts the US on the wrong side of the principles of fair competition and international trade rules.”
Wang contended that using "national security" as a pretext to undermine the competitiveness of other countries' companies would result in a lack of fairness and justice. He described this action as employing "robbers' logic," attempting to seize all the benefits possessed by others through any means possible.
Wang was also asked to clarify if China’s ban on US social media applications, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, was similar. He responded that China welcomes foreign platforms and services to the Chinese market “on the premise that they observe China’s laws and regulations.” “This is completely different from the US way of handling TikTok, which is clearly a bullying act and robbers’ logic.”
On being further prodded about concerns that Chinese companies are subject to the national security law requiring them to share data with the government on request, Wang said that Beijing “attaches great importance to protecting data privacy and security.”
China's Foreign Ministry responded to the US Congress Bill to force Byte Dance to sell TikTok to a US company or face ban: "This is Banditry" pic.twitter.com/sUD81pcHdI
— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) March 14, 2024
“We have never asked and will never ask businesses or individuals to collect or provide data in other countries for the Chinese government in violation of local laws,” he underscored. “The problem of the US is that while never finding evidence of TikTok threatening its national security, the US resorts to state power and abuses national security as the reason to suppress this company,” the spokesperson slammed.
US’s Proposed TikTok Ban
Comments from China come after the US House of Representatives approved legislation proposing a nationwide ban on TikTok unless its Chinese parent company divests, citing national security concerns. The bill passed by a margin of 352-65 on Wednesday and is now headed to the Senate, its prospects uncertain.
TikTok, boasting over 170 million American users, operates as a subsidiary of ByteDance Ltd. Lawmakers express concern over ByteDance's adherence to Chinese law, which requires cooperation in intelligence efforts, citing potential security risks to the US.
Last February, the White House ordered federal agencies to delete TikTok from all government devices amid growing concerns that ByteDance could gain access to personal user data and provide it to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Moreover, national security experts fear that the CCP could use the app as a tool to spread misinformation or manipulate its algorithm to control the feed of users in the US.