Tiktok exits Hong Kong as US ponders banning the app
Tiktok is to remove its app from Hong Kong, as other technology firms say they will stop processing data requests from authorities in the city state.
Tiktok, which is owned by Chinese giant Bytedance, said it had made the decision to exit the region after China approved fresh national security law for the region last week.
“In light of recent events, we’ve decided to stop operations of the Tiktok app in Hong Kong,” a Tiktok spokesman said.
It follows in the footsteps of giants such as Facebook in pulling out or suspending cooperation with authorities in the market. Apple is also said to be mulling its options after the law was passed.
Meanwhile US vice president Mike Pence told reporters yesterday that Washington is considering a ban of the short-form video app, as it takes action against Chinese companies it believes to be a security threat.
“I don’t want to get out in front of the President [Donald Trump], but it’s something we’re looking at,” Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.
US politicians have raised concerns about Tiktok and other Chinese social media apps, voicing security fears over Chinese laws that require companies “to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party”.
Tiktok was banned in India last week along with 58 other Chinese apps, as the Indian government said the country was responding to a threat to its sovereignty and security.
Tiktok has said previously that it would not comply with any requests made by the Chinese government to censor content or for access to Tiktok’s user data, nor has it ever been asked to do so.
It added that it does not store foreign user data in China.
The Hong Kong region is a small, loss-making market for the company, one source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Last August, Tiktok reported it had attracted 150,000 users in Hong Kong.