TikTok has insisted that the concerns are overblown. It has teams dedicated to combating influence operations, whose work it makes public, the company said in a statement. TikTok’s algorithm, which it aims to “maintain content neutrality,” ranks content based on what users express interest in, the company said.
TikTok has said ByteDance is majority-owned by global investors. At the same time, the Chinese government has claimed authority to oppose any sale.
As other Chinese companies look to do more business overseas, TikTok has become both a model and a cautionary tale. The app showed that a new kind of entertainment first popularized in China could catch on elsewhere. But it also paved the way for blowback against Chinese apps like Temu and Shein.
“It feels like every Chinese entrepreneur needs a political science or international relations degree to be able to navigate their future now,” said Kevin Xu, the U.S.-based founder of Interconnected Capital, a hedge fund that invests in artificial intelligence technologies.
Other companies with global internet products, like Meta and Google, also face scrutiny around the world, said Jianggan Li, the chief executive of Momentum Works, a consultancy in Singapore. “But being U.S. companies, they do not face the mistrust that TikTok has faced in the eyes of politicians and regulators in the West,” Mr. Li said.
