New Zealand experts aren’t sure a US ban of Tiktok would have much effect on users here.
The US Congress has approved legislation requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell its shares within six months or face a US ban. This represents the most significant threat to the app since the Trump administration’s actions against it.
Congress acted on fears that having a Chinese owner could create a major security risk for data protection because Chinese companies traditionally work closely with the Chinese government.
TikTok boasts 170 million users in the United States alone and 1.6 million users in New Zealand.
Louis Davis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) is the biggest TikTok creator in New Zealand with nearly two million followers. His content celebrates fatherhood and mātauranga Māori.
“I want the biggest and most told story on social media and TikTok in particular, to be a story about a father who is loving and affectionate with his kids and his wife, and for that story to be so big and so powerful that it is so the one thing you know about Māori dads if you’re on TikTok.”
@louisdavis_ My daughter eating her first kinas in a while
♬ original sound - Louis
Despite having more than 400,000 followers in the United States, Davis is unbothered by the possibility of the app being banned there, saying creators are at the mercy of apps.
“Life will go on and new opportunities to work in other markets will shift and maybe it will give people from smaller countries like ours opportunities to pursue their content dreams.
“The Creator Fund, for example, supports small creators, and is predominantly accessible to users in select countries, primarily the US. By potentially excluding the American market, other smaller countries and creators may find greater opportunities to thrive.”
Is our data more vulnerable on Chinese-owned apps?
Te Hiku Media chief technology officer Keoni Mahelona criticises the American government’s stance on TikTok, labelling its concerns about data protection as hypocritical.
“So American politicians are okay with American companies spying on the citizens but they’re not okay with the Chinese companies spying on the citizens.”
Mahelona says Aotearoa entrusts significant amounts of data to both American and Chinese corporations, including educational institutions and government agencies relying on platforms like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
He encourages users of any data-sharing platform to be aware of what they are sharing and the impact it can have on family and friends.
“We need to be smart about the data that we do share on these platforms. ‘Do I want to share my whakapapa on these platforms or am I happy to just share videos of my mates being silly and what’s the risk of me sharing certain data?’”
The bill passed by a vote of 352-65, garnering bipartisan support, but its passage through the Senate is less certain, with some senators advocating for alternative approaches to regulating foreign-owned apps that raise security concerns.