Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure

Special Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure
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Updated 17 March 2024
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Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure

Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure
  • If a US bill is signed into law, ByteDance will be forced to sell the app to an American company within six months
  • Social-video platform faces bans, boycotts and scrutiny of its handling of user data, criticism about its influence

LONDON/DUBAI: Just days after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that, if signed into law, would force the China-based owner of TikTok to sell the video-sharing app, the fate of the company’s US operations hangs in the balance.

If the Senate also passes the bill and President Joe Biden signs it into law, ByteDance would have to sell TikTok to an American company within six months or the app will be banned in the US.

Such a law “will take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses” and put more than 30,000 American jobs at risk, said TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.




CaptionTikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 31, 2024. (REUTERS)

The House vote is only the latest setback in a string of bad news for TikTok, which has faced government bans, boycotts, scrutiny of its handling of sensitive user data and criticism about its influence on users in a number of important markets.

Many countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France and Taiwan, have prohibited the use of TikTok app on the work phones of government employees over privacy and cybersecurity concerns.

INNUMBERS

• US has the largest TikTok audience by far, with almost 150 million users engaging with it as of January 2024.

• Indonesia has around 126 million TikTok users.

• Brazil comes in third with almost 99 million users.

Source: Statista

In June 2020, India banned the use of the app nationwide after a deadly clash on the India-China border, depriving 200 million users access to the app almost overnight. In November last year, Nepal announced a full ban on TikTok in the country, saying that the app was “detrimental to social harmony.”

Late last year, calls to boycott TikTok in Saudi Arabia intensified after a campaign accused the platform of unjustly censoring and banning Saudi accounts expressing positive views about the Kingdom.

Many users turned to alternative social platforms to denounce TikTok’s alleged restriction of pro-Saudi content, with the trending hashtag #BoycottTikTok accompanied by posts urging Saudis to delete the app.

In an effort to rebuild trust, TikTok launched a dedicated hashtag page for Saudi content on its platform.

This year, TikTok reported having 26 million active users in Saudi Arabia, positioning it as the second most popular social platform after YouTube. Preliminary data indicated that last year’s boycott resulted in a decline in the number of Saudi TikTok users.

Social media personalities and celebrities including Emirati artist Ahlam supported the boycott by Saudi TikTok users. The private sector joined in as well, with social media news channel The Saudi Post closing its accounts on the platform.

Citing a source close to the Saudi First Division League earlier in November 2023, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that the second tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia had severed its relationship with TikTok due to the platform’s alleged actions against Saudi content.

TikTok denied the allegations it had restricted Saudi content and dismissed the boycott campaign as a “coordinated action.”

The company said in a statement: “The rumors regarding TikTok removing content related to Saudi Arabia are not true. We strongly reject these allegations that are inconsistent with our policies and values.”

In December 2022, Jordan temporarily banned TikTok after a police officer was killed during clashes with protesters that broke out over high fuel prices.

Videos of the protests flooded TikTok, resulting in the platform being temporarily banned due to concerns over users sharing fabricated videos and inciting violence.




Jordanian military personnel walk on December 16, 2022 in the southern city of Jerash in the funeral procession of a senior police officer who was killed in riots the previous day in southern Jordan. (AFP/File)

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said that it was suspending the app “after its misuse and failing to deal with publications inciting violence and disorder.”

The temporary ban is still in effect, with many young users turning to VPN services to access the app.

Local media reports cited Abd Al-Hadi Al-Tahat, head of the Cybercrime Unit at the Public Security Directorate, as saying that the ban would remain until the platform fully complied with Jordanian regulations and laws.

During a talk at Yarmouk University titled “Visions of Modernization: Youth is the Focus of Concern,” the country’s prime minister, Bisher Al-Khasawneh, said one of the conditions for TikTok’s reactivation in the country is for the company to establish an office in Jordan or elsewhere in the region.

A TikTok spokesperson told Jordanian media outlet Roya that the platform is committed to improving and updating its safety policies and tools. However, it has yet to outline any specific measures.

Wednesday’s move by US lawmakers to pass legislation — with 352 votes in favor and just 65 against — that could ban TikTok in the US prompted an outcry among users and from the company itself.




Rep. Robert Garcia of California speaks outside Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2024, as he is joined by fellow Democratic congressmen and TikTok creators during a press conference to voice their opposition to the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," which woul,d effective ban TikTok in the US. (REUTERS)

“This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: It’s a ban,” a TikTok spokesperson told Arab News.

“We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents and realize the impact on the economy — 7 million small businesses and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”

Denouncing the arguments behind the bill as “bandit logic,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that the US decision “runs contrary to the principles of fair competition and justice.”

He added: “When someone sees a good thing another person has and tries to take it for themselves, this is entirely the logic of a bandit.”




A man walks past a Tiktok booth during the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE) in Shanghai on March 14, 2024. China on March 14, 2024 slammed the approval of a US bill that would ban TikTok unless it severs ties with its Chinese parent company, blasting Washington's "bandit" mentality and vowing Beijing would "take all necessary measures" to protect the interests of its companies overseas. (AFP)

Closer to home, Summer Lucille, founder and owner of a boutique in North Carolina, told US lawmakers: “You are voting against my small business. You are voting against me getting a slice of my American pie.”

Lucille began advertising on TikTok in 2022 and has since been able to expand her business significantly, a CNN report said.

Several other American business owners have echoed the sentiment. “Banning TikTok would shut down a lot of small businesses, including mine,” Brandon Hurst, a plant shop owner, told The Washington Post.

Gigi Gonzalez, a financial educator from Chicago, said that the ban would remove her biggest revenue source — a video host for brand deals, speaking opportunities and digital course sales.




Supporters of TikTok do a TV news interview at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2024, as the House of Representatives passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell to an American owner. (AP Photo)

Before using TikTok, she had tried to reach people — unsuccessfully — through webinars. Now, Gonzalez reaches millions of people through TikTok, The Post was told.

Beyond its economic impact, a ban “would stifle free speech,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.

“Under the First Amendment, we have the right to speak, to express ourselves, to receive information from others and to associate freely. And banning TikTok would implicate each of those rights.”

 

 

She added that the US government cannot impose such a ban unless it is the only way to “prevent extremely serious, significant and immediate harm to national security.”

However, “there’s no public evidence of that type of harm,” Gorski said, adding that even if national security is threatened, there are better options than an outright ban.

Nour Halabi, an assistant professor and interdisciplinary research fellow working on global media and politics at the University of Aberdeen, believes that the TikTok battle is rooted in “America’s political and economic rivalry with China.”

She told Arab News: “For a long time, scholars of media — especially digital media — have pointed to the imbalanced concentration of the world’s most powerful media platforms in the Global North and specifically in the US.

“The market share of American media platforms dominates the whole world’s digital media use to some extent. The rise of a media platform based in China challenges this primacy, so from an economic standpoint, it is a threat.”




Marcus Bridgewater tends to his backyard herbs and flower garden in Spring, Texas, on March 14, 2024. The TikTok content creator speaks with The Associated on how TikTok has transformed his life and the adverse effect a TikTok ban iwill have on his online space for gardening. (AP)

She added: “From a geopolitical standpoint, the conversation on TikTok echoes the political discourse around the ‘Al Jazeera effect’ in the 2000s, when American politicians showed concern that Americans would turn to foreign media outlets to get insight on political issues, and therefore the US would lose control of strategic narratives on key debates on domestic matters and foreign policy issues.”

Indeed, the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October last year has also placed TikTok at the center of another heated debate in the US, this time over the app’s perceived influence over young Americans.

As well as the Chinese ownership of the app, many Republican politicians have also cited the relative popularity of pro-Palestinian videos on the platform as justification for a nationwide ban.

TikTok creators and social media experts have responded by arguing that the platform merely offers content reflecting multiple sides of the debate, especially considering that the opinions of Americans on the Israel-Hamas war sharply differ by age.




Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she voted for a bill seeking to ban TikTok in the US unless the Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance sells the popular video app within the next six months. (Getty Images/AFP)

In November last year, TikTok prohibited content that publicized slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s 2002 letter outlining his justifications for attacks on the US.

“Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism,” TikTok said in a statement, but described reports that the 20-year-old letter was “trending” on the platform as inaccurate.

America may be trying to protect its global hegemony over digital media, as critics of a TikTok ban say. But US government officials warn that they are concerned over data collected by TikTok being used to threaten national security.

Although TikTok has repeatedly denied claims that it shares sensitive user data with the Chinese government, what fuels concerns in Washington is Beijing’s recent national security legislation that can compel private Chinese companies to aid in intelligence gathering.

Legislators fear that ByteDance may be — now or in the future — controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, thereby allowing the Chinese government to use the app to disseminate false information that interferes with US elections, especially at a time when Americans increasingly use TikTok for news.




A view shows the office of TikTok in Culver City, California. (REUTERS/File Photo)

Also, as TikTok’s critics frequently cite, internet users in China cannot access US-owned platforms like YouTube, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook.

Only time will if tell users and content producers can survive and do business in a TikTok-less America.

During previous attempts by the US government to force a sale of TikTok, when Donald Trump was in the White House, several American companies reportedly entered into talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s US operations, only for the deals to stall.

Mamdouh Al-Muhaini, general manager of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath news channels, sees US lawmakers’ battle against TikTok as a “political drama” of their own creation, based on two arguments that “do not make sense and are not based on conclusive evidence.”

In a recent post on X, Al-Muhaini argued that TikTok is not alone among social media companies in collecting user data to inform algorithms.

“This is what all platforms do, including Facebook, Twitter (X) and Instagram,” Al-Muhaini said, adding that no evidence has been provided to back the claim that the Chinese government has used TikTok to spy on US or Western government institutions.

 


PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO

PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO
Updated 15 January 2025
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PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO

PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO
  • Appointment marks Fedorczuk’s return to Omnicom Media Group after nearly 15 years

DUBAI: Media network Omnicom Media Group Middle East & North Africa has named Christian Fedorczuk CEO of its media agency PHD.

Fedorczuk has over two decades of global experience in the media and creative industries across agency networks such as IPG, dentsu and Omnicom Media Group in London, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Dubai. 

The appointment marks his return to Omnicom Media Group and the MENA region having served as the network’s group director for strategy and development from 2007 to 2010.

Fedorczuk’s latest stint was as co-founder of creative studio Acumen in Tokyo, which services clients such as adidas, Red Bull, LVMH, Nike, Netflix and Apple.

Elda Choucair, CEO of Omnicom Media Group, said: “Christian is such a multi-faceted individual, structured and innovative in equal measures, well-travelled and a people person, he will fit perfectly at PHD, where effectiveness and creativity live in perfect harmony.

“I have been looking for the opportunity to bring him back and I am delighted to have now found it.” 


Egyptian YouTuber Ahmed AbouZaid detained on illegal currency trading charges

Egyptian YouTuber Ahmed AbouZaid detained on illegal currency trading charges
Updated 15 January 2025
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Egyptian YouTuber Ahmed AbouZaid detained on illegal currency trading charges

Egyptian YouTuber Ahmed AbouZaid detained on illegal currency trading charges
  • AbouZaid arrested shortly after being shortlisted for an award at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai
  • It is alleged authorities used the YouTuber’s withdrawal of a large sum of money as a pretext for his arrest

LONDON: Egyptian YouTuber Ahmed AbouZaid, whose channel is known for its educational content, has been detained by authorities on accusations of illegal currency trading.

AbouZaid, whose popular YouTube channel Droos Online has 8.65 million subscribers, was arrested last week at his home in the Gharbia Governorate after withdrawing a large sum of cash from his personal bank account, according to sources close to the matter.

The arrest came just days after he was shortlisted for an award at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai.

Egyptian authorities initially detained AbouZaid for four days pending an investigation.

After an appeal by his defense team, his detention was extended for another 15 days.

On Jan. 13, a court confirmed the detention and referred him to the criminal court for trial.

A source close to AbouZaid accused Egyptian authorities of fabricating the charges, claiming that his withdrawal of a significant amount of money was used as a pretext for the arrest.

“YouTube revenues are the main source of income for Ahmed,” the source said, adding that all financial transactions were conducted through Egyptian banks.

AbouZaid, who previously worked as a “civil engineer dodging scorpions in the Arabian desert,” became a full-time YouTuber in 2017 after realizing he was earning more from his online platform than from his day job.

He creates educational content, including simplified English language courses, life management advice, and tips for achieving practical success, making him one of the most followed content creators in Egypt.


Pro-Palestinian group to proceed with London march despite ‘discriminatory’ police ban

Pro-Palestinian group to proceed with London march despite ‘discriminatory’ police ban
Updated 15 January 2025
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Pro-Palestinian group to proceed with London march despite ‘discriminatory’ police ban

Pro-Palestinian group to proceed with London march despite ‘discriminatory’ police ban
  • Met Police have upheld a ban on Jan. 18 rally despite Palestinian Solidarity Campaign proposing alternative route
  • Group rejects claim that supporters encouraged people to defy police-imposed conditions

LONDON: The organizers of a planned pro-Palestine demonstration outside the BBC’s London headquarters have labeled a police decision to block the march as “discriminatory” and announced their intention to proceed with the event on Jan. 18.

The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, which is organizing the march, made the announcement on Tuesday following a meeting with London’s Metropolitan Police.

In a statement, the group accused the authorities of deliberately seeking to prevent their protest outside the BBC. “The police have made abundantly clear that the real aim is to block us from protesting at the BBC under any circumstances,” the PSC said.

The Met had previously announced its decision to ban the march, citing security concerns after consultations with local business owners and religious leaders who raised objections to the demonstration’s proximity to a synagogue.

The PSC has repeatedly denied that its marches — which are regularly attended by Jewish groups — pose any threat to the Jewish community.

To address the police’s concerns, the PSC proposed reversing the original route, and suggested that the march begin at Whitehall and avoid the synagogue’s Shabbat service, which ends at 1 p.m., before finishing at Portland Place.

However, the group said that police rejected the proposal and instead introduced “new and dubious justifications” for the ban. The PSC also accused authorities of falsely claiming that “influential supporters and organizers” of the march had encouraged attendees to defy police-imposed conditions.

Over the weekend, hundreds of political, cultural and social figures voiced their support for the right to demonstrate in solidarity with Palestine.

A letter organized by a Jewish bloc that regularly takes part in pro-Palestine marches gathered more than 700 signatures from members of the Jewish community.

The PSC said its protest is rooted in frustration over “the complicity of the BBC, which has failed to report the facts of this genocide,” adding that the police have “no legitimate grounds” to block the march.

It remains unclear how the situation will unfold on Saturday or whether an agreement will be reached to avoid potential disruption or police intervention.

In a statement to Arab News on Wednesday, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said that there were no updates, highlighting that the police’s position “still stands” based on earlier statements.

PSC media officer Bhavesh Hindocha described the situation as “fluid,” adding that changes could occur up to the day of the march.

“We intend to march from Whitehall towards the BBC, as close as we can depending on police conditions,” he said.


TikTok calls report of possible sale to Musk’s X ‘pure fiction’

TikTok calls report of possible sale to Musk’s X ‘pure fiction’
Updated 14 January 2025
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TikTok calls report of possible sale to Musk’s X ‘pure fiction’

TikTok calls report of possible sale to Musk’s X ‘pure fiction’
  • Rumors circulated Monday that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, is considering selling the platform’s US operations to Elon Musk’s social media platform, X
  • Congress legislation could force TikTok to divest its US operations, requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the platform or shut it down

NEW YORK: TikTok on Tuesday labeled as “pure fiction” a report that China is exploring a potential sale of the video-sharing platform’s US operations to billionaire Elon Musk as the firm faces an American law requiring imminent Chinese divestment.
Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News had earlier reported that Chinese officials were considering selling the company’s US operations to Musk’s social media platform X.
The report outlined one scenario being discussed in Beijing where X would purchase TikTok from Chinese owner ByteDance and combine it with the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson told AFP.
The report estimated the value of TikTok’s US operations at between $40 billion and $50 billion.
Although Musk is currently ranked as the world’s wealthiest person, Bloomberg said it was not clear how Musk could execute the transaction, or if he would need to sell other assets.
The US Congress passed a law last year that requires ByteDance to either sell its wildly popular platform or shut it down. It goes into effect on Sunday — a day before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The US government alleges TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users and is a conduit to spread propaganda. China and ByteDance strongly deny the claims.
TikTok has challenged the law, taking an appeal all the way to the US Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on Friday.
At the hearing, a majority of the conservative and liberal justices on the nine-member bench appeared skeptical of arguments by a lawyer for TikTok that forcing a sale was a violation of First Amendment free speech rights.
Bloomberg characterized Beijing’s consideration of a possible Musk transaction as “still preliminary,” noting that Chinese officials have yet to reach a consensus on how to proceed.
Musk is a close ally of Trump and is expected to play an influential role in Washington in the coming four years.
He also runs electric car company Tesla, which has a major factory in China and counts the country as one of the automaker’s biggest markets.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to enact new tariffs on Chinese goods, which would expand a trade war begun in his first term and which was largely upheld, and in some cases supplemented, by outgoing President Joe Biden.


Indonesia plans minimum age for social media use

Indonesia plans minimum age for social media use
Updated 14 January 2025
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Indonesia plans minimum age for social media use

Indonesia plans minimum age for social media use
  • Minister Meutya Hafid said plans will “protect children in digital space,” did not specify minimum age

JAKARTA: Indonesia plans to issue a regulation to set a minimum age for users of social media, a move aimed at protecting children, its communications minister has said.
The plans follows Australia’s decision to ban children under 16 from accessing social media, with fines for tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok if they failed to prevent children accessing their platforms.
Minister Meutya Hafid did not say what the minimum age would be in Indonesia. Her remarks, made late on Monday, came after Meutya discussed the plan with President Prabowo Subianto.
“We discussed how to protect children in digital space,” she said in a video uploaded on the YouTube channel of the president’s office.
“The president said to carry on with this plan. He is very supportive on how this kind of child protection will be done in our digital space,” she said.
Internet penetration in Indonesia, a country of about 280 million people, reached 79.5 percent last year, according to a survey of 8,700 people by the Indonesia Internet service providers’ association.
The survey showed 48 percent of children under 12 had access to the Internet, with some respondents of that age group using Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. The survey showed Internet penetration was 87 percent among “Gen Z” users, or those age 12 to 27.