Although the owner of the firm refuted the allegations, Taiwan’s government has launched an investigation into the Chinese-owned social media site TikTok on the grounds that it may be running an unlawful subsidiary on the island.
TikTok, which is not very popular in Taiwan, has faced criticism mostly from Americans who are worried about China gaining access to user data, a claim the business vehemently refutes.
The Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan, which formulates China policy, said in a statement late on Sunday that a working committee under the Cabinet had learned on December 9 that TikTok was suspected of “illegal commercial operations” in Taiwan.
According to Taiwan’s Liberty Times newspaper, ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, has established a company on the island to advertise for business, in violation of Taiwanese legislation that forbids Chinese social media companies from conducting business there.
In response to that news, the Mainland Affairs Council stated that the Cabinet’s working committee had found evidence of a possible legal violation and that authorities were looking into it.
“The mainland side has utilised short video platforms like TikTok to conduct cognitive operations and infiltration against other nations in recent years, and there is a significant likelihood that the Chinese government is gathering users’ personal information,” it continued.
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