Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure

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Updated 17 March 2024
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Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure

  • If a US bill is signed into law, ByteDance will be forced to sell the app to an American company within six months
  • Social-video platform faces bans, boycotts and scrutiny of its handling of user data, criticism about its influence

LONDON/DUBAI: Just days after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that, if signed into law, would force the China-based owner of TikTok to sell the video-sharing app, the fate of the company’s US operations hangs in the balance.

If the Senate also passes the bill and President Joe Biden signs it into law, ByteDance would have to sell TikTok to an American company within six months or the app will be banned in the US.

Such a law “will take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses” and put more than 30,000 American jobs at risk, said TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.




CaptionTikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 31, 2024. (REUTERS)

The House vote is only the latest setback in a string of bad news for TikTok, which has faced government bans, boycotts, scrutiny of its handling of sensitive user data and criticism about its influence on users in a number of important markets.

Many countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France and Taiwan, have prohibited the use of TikTok app on the work phones of government employees over privacy and cybersecurity concerns.

INNUMBERS

• US has the largest TikTok audience by far, with almost 150 million users engaging with it as of January 2024.

• Indonesia has around 126 million TikTok users.

• Brazil comes in third with almost 99 million users.

Source: Statista

In June 2020, India banned the use of the app nationwide after a deadly clash on the India-China border, depriving 200 million users access to the app almost overnight. In November last year, Nepal announced a full ban on TikTok in the country, saying that the app was “detrimental to social harmony.”

Late last year, calls to boycott TikTok in Saudi Arabia intensified after a campaign accused the platform of unjustly censoring and banning Saudi accounts expressing positive views about the Kingdom.

Many users turned to alternative social platforms to denounce TikTok’s alleged restriction of pro-Saudi content, with the trending hashtag #BoycottTikTok accompanied by posts urging Saudis to delete the app.

In an effort to rebuild trust, TikTok launched a dedicated hashtag page for Saudi content on its platform.

This year, TikTok reported having 26 million active users in Saudi Arabia, positioning it as the second most popular social platform after YouTube. Preliminary data indicated that last year’s boycott resulted in a decline in the number of Saudi TikTok users.

Social media personalities and celebrities including Emirati artist Ahlam supported the boycott by Saudi TikTok users. The private sector joined in as well, with social media news channel The Saudi Post closing its accounts on the platform.

Citing a source close to the Saudi First Division League earlier in November 2023, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that the second tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia had severed its relationship with TikTok due to the platform’s alleged actions against Saudi content.

TikTok denied the allegations it had restricted Saudi content and dismissed the boycott campaign as a “coordinated action.”

The company said in a statement: “The rumors regarding TikTok removing content related to Saudi Arabia are not true. We strongly reject these allegations that are inconsistent with our policies and values.”

In December 2022, Jordan temporarily banned TikTok after a police officer was killed during clashes with protesters that broke out over high fuel prices.

Videos of the protests flooded TikTok, resulting in the platform being temporarily banned due to concerns over users sharing fabricated videos and inciting violence.




Jordanian military personnel walk on December 16, 2022 in the southern city of Jerash in the funeral procession of a senior police officer who was killed in riots the previous day in southern Jordan. (AFP/File)

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said that it was suspending the app “after its misuse and failing to deal with publications inciting violence and disorder.”

The temporary ban is still in effect, with many young users turning to VPN services to access the app.

Local media reports cited Abd Al-Hadi Al-Tahat, head of the Cybercrime Unit at the Public Security Directorate, as saying that the ban would remain until the platform fully complied with Jordanian regulations and laws.

During a talk at Yarmouk University titled “Visions of Modernization: Youth is the Focus of Concern,” the country’s prime minister, Bisher Al-Khasawneh, said one of the conditions for TikTok’s reactivation in the country is for the company to establish an office in Jordan or elsewhere in the region.

A TikTok spokesperson told Jordanian media outlet Roya that the platform is committed to improving and updating its safety policies and tools. However, it has yet to outline any specific measures.

Wednesday’s move by US lawmakers to pass legislation — with 352 votes in favor and just 65 against — that could ban TikTok in the US prompted an outcry among users and from the company itself.




Rep. Robert Garcia of California speaks outside Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2024, as he is joined by fellow Democratic congressmen and TikTok creators during a press conference to voice their opposition to the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," which woul,d effective ban TikTok in the US. (REUTERS)

“This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: It’s a ban,” a TikTok spokesperson told Arab News.

“We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents and realize the impact on the economy — 7 million small businesses and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”

Denouncing the arguments behind the bill as “bandit logic,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that the US decision “runs contrary to the principles of fair competition and justice.”

He added: “When someone sees a good thing another person has and tries to take it for themselves, this is entirely the logic of a bandit.”




A man walks past a Tiktok booth during the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE) in Shanghai on March 14, 2024. China on March 14, 2024 slammed the approval of a US bill that would ban TikTok unless it severs ties with its Chinese parent company, blasting Washington's "bandit" mentality and vowing Beijing would "take all necessary measures" to protect the interests of its companies overseas. (AFP)

Closer to home, Summer Lucille, founder and owner of a boutique in North Carolina, told US lawmakers: “You are voting against my small business. You are voting against me getting a slice of my American pie.”

Lucille began advertising on TikTok in 2022 and has since been able to expand her business significantly, a CNN report said.

Several other American business owners have echoed the sentiment. “Banning TikTok would shut down a lot of small businesses, including mine,” Brandon Hurst, a plant shop owner, told The Washington Post.

Gigi Gonzalez, a financial educator from Chicago, said that the ban would remove her biggest revenue source — a video host for brand deals, speaking opportunities and digital course sales.




Supporters of TikTok do a TV news interview at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2024, as the House of Representatives passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell to an American owner. (AP Photo)

Before using TikTok, she had tried to reach people — unsuccessfully — through webinars. Now, Gonzalez reaches millions of people through TikTok, The Post was told.

Beyond its economic impact, a ban “would stifle free speech,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.

“Under the First Amendment, we have the right to speak, to express ourselves, to receive information from others and to associate freely. And banning TikTok would implicate each of those rights.”

 

 

She added that the US government cannot impose such a ban unless it is the only way to “prevent extremely serious, significant and immediate harm to national security.”

However, “there’s no public evidence of that type of harm,” Gorski said, adding that even if national security is threatened, there are better options than an outright ban.

Nour Halabi, an assistant professor and interdisciplinary research fellow working on global media and politics at the University of Aberdeen, believes that the TikTok battle is rooted in “America’s political and economic rivalry with China.”

She told Arab News: “For a long time, scholars of media — especially digital media — have pointed to the imbalanced concentration of the world’s most powerful media platforms in the Global North and specifically in the US.

“The market share of American media platforms dominates the whole world’s digital media use to some extent. The rise of a media platform based in China challenges this primacy, so from an economic standpoint, it is a threat.”




Marcus Bridgewater tends to his backyard herbs and flower garden in Spring, Texas, on March 14, 2024. The TikTok content creator speaks with The Associated on how TikTok has transformed his life and the adverse effect a TikTok ban iwill have on his online space for gardening. (AP)

She added: “From a geopolitical standpoint, the conversation on TikTok echoes the political discourse around the ‘Al Jazeera effect’ in the 2000s, when American politicians showed concern that Americans would turn to foreign media outlets to get insight on political issues, and therefore the US would lose control of strategic narratives on key debates on domestic matters and foreign policy issues.”

Indeed, the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October last year has also placed TikTok at the center of another heated debate in the US, this time over the app’s perceived influence over young Americans.

As well as the Chinese ownership of the app, many Republican politicians have also cited the relative popularity of pro-Palestinian videos on the platform as justification for a nationwide ban.

TikTok creators and social media experts have responded by arguing that the platform merely offers content reflecting multiple sides of the debate, especially considering that the opinions of Americans on the Israel-Hamas war sharply differ by age.




Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she voted for a bill seeking to ban TikTok in the US unless the Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance sells the popular video app within the next six months. (Getty Images/AFP)

In November last year, TikTok prohibited content that publicized slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s 2002 letter outlining his justifications for attacks on the US.

“Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism,” TikTok said in a statement, but described reports that the 20-year-old letter was “trending” on the platform as inaccurate.

America may be trying to protect its global hegemony over digital media, as critics of a TikTok ban say. But US government officials warn that they are concerned over data collected by TikTok being used to threaten national security.

Although TikTok has repeatedly denied claims that it shares sensitive user data with the Chinese government, what fuels concerns in Washington is Beijing’s recent national security legislation that can compel private Chinese companies to aid in intelligence gathering.

Legislators fear that ByteDance may be — now or in the future — controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, thereby allowing the Chinese government to use the app to disseminate false information that interferes with US elections, especially at a time when Americans increasingly use TikTok for news.




A view shows the office of TikTok in Culver City, California. (REUTERS/File Photo)

Also, as TikTok’s critics frequently cite, internet users in China cannot access US-owned platforms like YouTube, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook.

Only time will if tell users and content producers can survive and do business in a TikTok-less America.

During previous attempts by the US government to force a sale of TikTok, when Donald Trump was in the White House, several American companies reportedly entered into talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s US operations, only for the deals to stall.

Mamdouh Al-Muhaini, general manager of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath news channels, sees US lawmakers’ battle against TikTok as a “political drama” of their own creation, based on two arguments that “do not make sense and are not based on conclusive evidence.”

In a recent post on X, Al-Muhaini argued that TikTok is not alone among social media companies in collecting user data to inform algorithms.

“This is what all platforms do, including Facebook, Twitter (X) and Instagram,” Al-Muhaini said, adding that no evidence has been provided to back the claim that the Chinese government has used TikTok to spy on US or Western government institutions.

 


Beyond ceasefire, India and Pakistan battle on in digital trenches

Updated 25 May 2025
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Beyond ceasefire, India and Pakistan battle on in digital trenches

  • Both states continue to push competing narratives after the four-day military standoff, which ended on May 10 with a US-brokered truce
  • Digital rights experts note how it is often laced with hate, targeting vulnerable communities like Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: As Indian and Pakistani guns fell silent after trading fire for days this month, the war over facts and fiction is far from over and fierce battle rages on social media as to who won, who distorted the truth, and which version of events should be trusted.

As both states continue to push competing narratives, experts warn that misinformation, censorship and AI-generated propaganda have turned digital platforms into battlegrounds, with real-world consequences for peace, truth and regional stability.

The four-day military standoff, which ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire, resulted from an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people last month. India accused Pakistan of backing the assault, a charge Islamabad has consistently denied.

While the truce between the nuclear-armed archfoes has since held, digital rights experts have sounded alarm over the parallel information war, which continues based on disinformation, censorship and propaganda on both sides, threatening the ceasefire between both nations.

Asad Baig, who heads the Media Matters for Democracy not-for-profit that works on media literacy and digital democracy, noted that broadcast media played a central role in spreading falsehoods during the India-Pakistan standoff to cater to an online audience hungry for “sensational content.”

“Disinformation was overwhelmingly spread from the Indian side,” Baig told Arab News. “Media was playing to a polarized, online audience. Conflict became content, and content became currency in the monetization game.”

A man clicks a picture of a billboard featuring Pakistan's Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir (C), Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf (R), and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, along a road in Peshawar. (AFP/File)

Several mainstream media outlets, mostly in India, flooded the public with fake news, doctored visuals and sensationalist coverage, fueling mass anxiety and misinformation, according to fact-checkers and experts, who say the role of media at this critical geopolitical juncture undermined journalistic integrity and misled citizens.

“I think this is a perfect example of the media becoming a tool of propaganda in the hands of a state,” said prominent digital rights activist Usama Khilji, calling on those at the helm of television and digital media outlets to independently verify state claims using tools like satellite imagery or on-ground sources.

In Pakistan, X, previously known as Twitter, had been banned since February 2024, with digital rights groups and global organizations calling the blockade a “blatant violation” of civic liberties and a threat to democratic freedoms.

But on May 7, as Pakistan’s responded to India’s missile strikes on its territory that began the conflict, the platform was suddenly restored, allowing users to access it without a VPN that allows them to bypass such restrictions by masking their location. The platform has remained accessible since.

“We were [previously] told that X is banned because of national security threats,” Khilji told Arab News, praising the government’s “strategic move” to let the world hear Pakistan’s side of the story during this month’s conflict.

“But when we actually got a major national security threat in terms of literal war, X was unblocked.”

Indian authorities meanwhile blocked more than 8,000 X, YouTube and Instagram accounts belonging to news outlets as well as Pakistani celebrities, journalists and influencers.

“When only one narrative is allowed to dominate, it creates echo chambers that breed confusion, fuel conflict, and dangerously suppress the truth,” Khilji explained.

VIRTUAL WAR

Minutes after India attacked Pakistan with missiles on May 7, Pakistan released a video to journalists via WhatsApp that showed multiple blasts hitting an unknown location purportedly in Pakistan. However, the video later turned out to be of Israeli bombardment of Gaza and was retracted.

A woman wearing a T-shirt featuring ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’ checks her mobile phone near a market area in Ludhiana. (AFP/File)

On May 8, Indian news outlets played a video in which a Pakistani military spokesperson admitted to the downing of two of their Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets. X users later pointed out that the video was AI-generated.

Throughout the standoff both mainstream and digital media outlets found themselves in the eye of the storm, with many official and verified accounts sharing and then retracting false information. The use of AI-generated videos and even video game simulations misrepresented battlefield scenarios in real time and amplified confusion at a critical moment.

Insights from experts paint a disturbing picture of how information warfare is becoming inseparable from conventional conflict. From deliberate state narratives to irresponsible media and rampant misinformation on social platforms, the truth itself is becoming a casualty of war.

AFP Digital Verification Correspondent Rimal Farrukh describes how false information was often laced with hate speech, targeting vulnerable communities like Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan.

“We saw dehumanizing language, misleading visuals, and recycled war footage, often from unrelated conflicts like Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Gaza, used to stoke fear and deepen biases,” she told Arab News.


BBC Gaza documentary delay prompts withdrawal threats from doctors, whistleblowers

Updated 23 May 2025
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BBC Gaza documentary delay prompts withdrawal threats from doctors, whistleblowers

  • BBC faces mounting pressure over decision to shelve film despite legal clearance and widespread support

LONDON: Doctors and whistleblowers who featured in a BBC documentary on Gaza have threatened to withdraw their consent after the broadcaster delayed airing the film, citing an internal review.

The documentary, “Gaza: Medics Under Fire,” was scheduled to be broadcast in February but remains on hold as the BBC investigates a separate program, “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,” which was earlier pulled from the BBC’s iPlayer after revelations that its young narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

According to a report by The Guardian, although “Gaza: Medics Under Fire” was cleared for broadcast and approved by the BBC’s legal and editorial compliance teams, the broadcaster has reportedly requested further changes and stated the film will not be aired until the ongoing internal review concludes.

The BBC, however, has not indicated when the review is expected to be completed.

While other broadcasters have expressed interest in airing the film, the BBC has so far blocked those efforts, according to the production company.

The delay has sparked backlash from cultural figures including Susan Sarandon, Gary Lineker, Harriet Walter and Miriam Margolyes, who signed an open letter to BBC Director-General Tim Davie, accusing the corporation of “political suppression.”

“This is not editorial caution. It’s political suppression,” the letter stated. “No news organisation should quietly decide behind closed doors whose stories are worth telling. This important film should be seen by the public, and its contributors’ bravery honoured.”

More than 600 people endorsed the letter, including prominent UK actors Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson.

Meanwhile, Basement Films, which produced the documentary, has released additional footage from other doctors in Gaza through its social media channels.

“We have many offers from broadcasters and platforms across the world so that the searing testimonies of Gazan medics and of surviving family members can be heard, in some cases eight months after we spoke to them … We are still urging BBC News to do the right thing,” the company said in a statement.

The situation has also stirred internal concern at the BBC, particularly after the corporation’s chair, Samir Shah, described the editorial failings of “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” as a “dagger to the heart” of the BBC’s reputation for trust and impartiality.

A BBC spokesperson told The Guardian: “We understand the importance of telling these stories and know that the current process is difficult for those involved.”


UK newspaper The Telegraph set for US ownership

Updated 23 May 2025
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UK newspaper The Telegraph set for US ownership

LONDON: British right-wing newspaper The Telegraph has agreed a deal that would see it purchased by US investment group RedBird Capital Partners for £500 million ($670 million), the pair announced Friday.
RedBird has struck an “in-principle agreement” to purchase The Telegraph Media Group (TMG), which comprises the 170-year-old paper’s print and online operations, a joint statement said.
It concludes a protracted sale lasting around two years, which has involved an intervention by the previous Conservative government.
US-Emirati consortium RedBird IMI had already struck a deal for TMG in late 2023.
RedBird Capital Partners on Friday said the agreement struck with TMG makes it “the sole control owner” and “unlocks a new era of growth for the title” founded in 1855.
“RedBird’s growth strategy will include capital investment in digital operations, subscriptions and journalism as it looks to expand The Telegraph internationally.”
The US group added it is in “discussions with select UK-based minority investors with print media expertise and strong commitment to upholding the editorial values of The Telegraph.”


Council for Arab-British Understanding welcomes Lammy’s comments on Israeli bombardment

Updated 22 May 2025
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Council for Arab-British Understanding welcomes Lammy’s comments on Israeli bombardment

  • Caabu praised the UK’s decision to suspend trade talks with Israel and impose sanctions on illegal settlers and entities
  • However, it said more needs to be done to end the war on Gaza

LONDON: The Council for Arab-British Understanding has welcomed UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s description of Israel’s continued assault on Gaza as “unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive.”

It also praised the UK’s decision to suspend trade talks with Israel and impose sanctions on illegal settlers and entities.

However, it said the measures “almost certainly go nowhere near far enough to stop Israeli actions,” and called for further action to be taken.

Israel’s two-month aid blockade on Gaza has sparked global outcry. The UN warned this week that it could lead to 14,000 babies dying of starvation.

The council said the UK should introduce a complete arms embargo against Israel.

“The government’s legal duty is to act to prevent genocide, as Tom Fletcher, the UN aid chief, pointed out at the UN Security Council. To do so, it needs to place a full arms embargo on Israel, including F35 components, put a ban on all trade with illegal settlements and place economic sanctions on Israel for its continued breaches of international humanitarian law.”

The council also condemned statements made by Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel who said the UK should support Israel’s aid distribution plan for Gaza and refrained from condemning what it called “the Israeli blockade and the genocidal comments from Israeli ministers.”

It said Israel’s plan “violates global humanitarian principles including providing aid on the basis of need. In her time as shadow foreign secretary, she has yet once in the House of Commons to criticize Israel nor to offer any sympathy to Palestinian civilians being bombed and starved.”


Asharq crowned ‘Telly Media Company of the Year’ globally for second year running

Updated 21 May 2025
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Asharq crowned ‘Telly Media Company of the Year’ globally for second year running

  • Network bagged 160 awards across various categories, including 25 gold, 76 silver and 59 bronze.

Riyadh: Asharq Network has won the “Telly Company of the Year” award for the second consecutive year.

The accolade recognizes the network’s efforts in producing impactful, high-quality content. In total, Asharq Network received 160 awards across various categories, including 25 gold, 76 silver and 59 bronze.

The network stood out among 13,000 record-breaking entries from five continents. Its winning work includes content from across all Asharq Network brands, including Asharq News, Asharq Business with Bloomberg, Asharq Documentary, Asharq Discovery.

“We are deeply honored to receive the Telly Company of the Year award for the second consecutive year. This achievement reflects the hard work, creativity and passion of our entire team, who continue to push the boundaries in creativity and media,” said Nabeel Alkhatib, general manager of Asharq News.

“This recognition reinforces our commitment to providing our audience with the most insightful and engaging content, tailored to the evolving needs of the Arabic-speaking world.”

Mohammed Alyousei, general manager of Asharq Discovery and Asharq Documentary, said: “Receiving this honor is a profound affirmation of our team’s unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation. This global recognition motivates us to continue pushing the boundaries of storytelling, ensuring that we deliver narratives that resonate and make a meaningful impact.”

Asharq Network’s storytelling and production quality were recognized across multiple categories. Asharq News and Asharq Business standout wins included coverage of the “US Elections Campaign,” the immersive VR Story on the “Destruction of Gaza,” the “Year-Ender 2024 Promo,” and the innovative “Business Image Promo — Connect the Dots.”

Asharq Documentary’s powerful “Faces” series was honored alongside compelling promos for the original documentaries “Under the Rubble,” “Beyond Sednaya,” “Moataz Aziza,” “Amazing Mercy of Tents” and “Dooms Day.” Meanwhile, Asharq Discovery’s gripping “Dark Minds” series and the dynamic “Shark Week” idents captured the judges’ attention, showcasing the network’s creative versatility and commitment to impactful content.

Steven Cheak, director of creative and branding services at Asharq Network, said: “Winning at the Telly Awards once again is a monumental achievement for our young and passionate team. Competing among such esteemed global brands only motivates us to continue elevating the standard of content creation. This year’s win underscores the brilliance of teams working well together, embracing technology, to achieve content that engage and resonate with our audiences. It’s truly inspiring to see our work being acknowledged globally, and this recognition fuels our passion to continue innovating, creating and telling stories that matter.”

The Telly Awards, established in 1979, are one of the most respected global awards programs, celebrating the best in video and television content. The awards cover a diverse range of categories, from traditional television commercials to cutting-edge digital media.