A Western campaign on Tik Tok.. Is it a confrontation to control the virtual sphere and surround Chinese influence?

The two guests of the “Beyond the News” episode did not rule out that the Western campaign against the Tik Tok application owned by a Chinese company was caused by the economic and political competition between the superpowers, and they acknowledge that this campaign is not based on concrete evidence against the application, which is very popular among young people in various countries of the world. .

Under the pretext of security concerns about the collection and use of TikTok personal data for users in a way that violates privacy and threatens security, the Canadian government decided to ban the application, joining the European Union and the United States, which have taken similar decisions, amid escalating tensions with China on various levels.

While confirming that the decision of Western countries regarding TikTok is linked to the economic and political competition between these countries and China, and that there is a unified Western strategy to deal with Beijing, Afzal Ashraf, a professor of security studies and international relations at the British University of Loughborough, explained that the ability of the application to present harmful codes allows access to devices. And beyond protection measures, they are the source of fear and concerns of governments in the United States of America, Canada and the countries of the European Union.

However, these Western concerns are not based on tangible evidence that TikTok can harm the devices and systems of the governments that have banned it, as confirmed by the guest of episode (3/1/2023) of the “Beyond the News” program, indicating that other social media companies and applications can It is held accountable by the US government, but the Chinese company cannot be held accountable in the event of a tangible danger.

For his part, Peter Misik - an expert in information security and lecturer in Internet Management at the College of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University - acknowledged that the concerns of Western governments are unjustified, as there is no evidence and proof of the risks that the TikTok application may pose, and what is reported is nothing but rumors and comments. Quoted from the statements of officials who refuse to provide this evidence.

He pointed out the existence of security gaps and lack of respect for customer privacy in applications belonging to giant technology companies in Silicon Valley without being punished.

Very popular platform

On the other hand, a professor of security studies and international relations at Loughborough University said that TikTok is a very popular platform, and it was able to dominate in the field of young people's use of social media, surpassing even Facebook.

He wondered why this Chinese application was targeted at a time when Western technology companies such as Facebook and Twitter allowed users' data to be used for political purposes to influence elections, as happened in the United States of America, and as a means of influence in favor of foreign governments.

The information security expert also believes that TikTok is a popular application that is popular in the Western world, stressing that the danger threatens it because it is banned by Western governments, and he said that billions of dollars are at stake, because the Chinese company has commercial units in the United States and other countries, and it is interested With advertisements and propaganda, what happens is hitting its brand.

The expert pointed out that the current fear is the idea of ​​dividing the Internet as a boundless space that enables building relationships between individuals and cultures across borders.

It is noteworthy that the White House gave government departments 30 days to remove Tik Tok from all devices and systems that use it.

In an internal memo, the US House of Representatives called on lawmakers and its staff to remove the app from their phones and mobile devices.

In turn, institutions belonging to the European Union - the most important of which is its Commission and its European Parliament - have taken measures to stop dealing with the controversial application.

In the Chinese reaction, Beijing said that Washington overreacted to the application, and a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the United States of abusing state power to suppress foreign companies.