Analysis by Politico, an American political media outlet
“The US has a constitution so TikTok can’t be touched.”
Respond with complacency, trusted by 170 million users
zoom in picture <사진 출처=로이터 연합뉴스>
“The complacency, blindness and arrogance of TikTok’s lobbyists led to a historic colossal defeat.”
On the 24th (local time), US President Joe Biden signed the ‘TikTok Forced Sales Act’, and on the 25th, Politico, a political media outlet in the US, reported that “TikTok lobbyists did not properly accept the seriousness of the matter. ” The background was told.
Former US President Donald Trump was the first to raise concerns about TikTok’s connection to the Chinese government. Former President Trump issued an executive order banning new downloads of TikTok in the United States in 2020, but it was blocked in court.
Accordingly, ByteDance nearly doubled its lobbying expenses from $2.5 million (about 3.4 billion won) in 2020 to $4.75 million (about 6.5 billion won) the following year.
However, Jacob Helberg, who heads the US-China Economic and Security Review Committee, which advises Congress on national security issues, said, “TikTok and ByteDance have spent money lobbying politicians, but they are not correctly answered the question, ‘Are they under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party?’ He criticized TikTok’s lobbying behavior, saying, “We have never provided a concrete answer.”
TikTok came up with a plan to protect personal information called the ‘Texas Project’ in early 2022, but the reaction of the US Congress was cold. The ‘Texas Project’ intends to protect the personal information of TikTok users by storing information on servers operated by Oracle, an American cloud company. However, lawmakers consistently ignored this, calling it a ‘TikTok promotional strategy.’
Before voting on the ‘TikTok Forced Sales Act’ on the 23rd, Senator Maria Cantwell (Democratic Party, Washington) said, “The problem is not the Texas project or whether the servers are moved to Texas,” and “It is not there is no information that harms Americans or the military.” “The problem is whether there is a back door designed to steal money (for the Chinese government),” he pointed out.
In particular, early last year, a Chinese reconnaissance balloon breached US airspace and was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, reigniting concerns about TikTok’s personal information being leaked. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, began calling TikTok a “reconnaissance balloon in my hand.”
‘Elated’ at the CEO hearing early last year
Influencer mobilization protest criticized as “arrogant”
Zoom in Chu Shouz TikTok CEO photo <사진=AP 연합뉴스>
However, surprisingly, the management showed a relaxed attitude despite various controversies. In a hearing on TikTok CEO Chu Shouz held in the US House of Representatives in March last year, just six weeks after the ‘reconnaissance balloon incident’ took place, lawmakers began to ‘brawl TikTok’ for five hours . The relationship with China and damage to children’s mental health were big topics.
TikTok officials at the time reportedly appraised the hearing as “CEO Showz’s successful debut.”
Jim Lewis, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), could not help but be shocked, saying, “Right after the hearing, TikTok’s in-house lawyer, Erich Andersen, spoke in an uplifting tone, saying, We hit a home run.”
Analysis suggests that the confidence gained by the large number of users, which reached 170 million, led to this misjudgment.
Vice President Lewis said, “Management felt that TikTok was ‘already too big’ for the US Congress to take it down through legislation unless it violated the Constitution,” adding, “It they seem to see themselves as invincible.”
Some say TikTok has used its influence as a tool to put pressure on Congress.
On the day of the CEO Shows hearing, TikTok gathered famous creators active on the TikTok app and protested in front of Congress, saying, “Don’t take away their livelihood.”
Vice President Lewis criticized, “Big tech companies don’t stand out in front and show their power,” and added, “They generally have a humble attitude, but ‘humility’ is nowhere to be found in TikTok.”
Enlarge picture Protest in front of the parliament <사진 출처=로이터 연합뉴스>
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