From Viral Dance Craze to Controversial Powerhouse: TikTok’s Transformation into a National Security Dilemma

FILE PHOTO: If it seems as though TikTok has existed forever, that’s likely due to its lengthy presence, especially when considered through the lens of internet time.
| Photo Credit: AP

If it appears that TikTok has been around for an eternity, that’s probably accurate, at least if you’re gauging by internet standards. The current concern is whether it will continue to exist much longer and, if it does, in what capacity?

Commencing in 2017, when the Chinese social video platform merged with its rival Musical.ly, TikTok has transitioned from a niche youthful application to a major global innovator. While simultaneously emerging as a conceivable national security risk, as per U.S. officials.

On April 24, President Joe Biden enacted legislation mandating TikTok parent company ByteDance to sell to an American proprietor within a year or face closure. TikTok and its China-based parent entity, ByteDance, initiated a lawsuit against the U.S., asserting that the security fears were exaggerated and the legislation ought to be invalidated for breaching the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously endorsed the federal statute banning TikTok, and the favored short-form video platform ceased operations in the U.S. — mere hours before the prohibition was about to take effect.

Here’s how TikTok arrived at this point:

• ByteDance is established in China by entrepreneur Zhang Yimin. The company’s first successful product is Toutiao, a personalized news aggregator for Chinese consumers.

• The startup Musical.ly, later renowned for an app used for curating short lipsyncing music videos, is founded in China by entrepreneur Alex Zhu.

• Musical.ly reaches #1 in the Apple App Store, after a design modification that made the company’s logo visible when users shared their content.

• ByteDance launches Douyin, a video-sharing application for Chinese users. Its success prompts the firm to develop a version for international audiences named TikTok.

• ByteDance purchases Musical.ly for $1 billion. Nine months later, ByteDance integrates it with TikTok.

• Fueled by an algorithm that promotes binge-watching, users start sharing a diverse range of videos on the platform, including dance routines, culinary preparations, and various “challenges” involving performances that span from serious to humorous.

• Rapper Lil Nas X releases the country-trap hit “Old Town Road” on TikTok, where it goes viral and propels the song to a record-breaking 17 weeks at the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This phenomenon sparks a surge of TikTok videos from musical artists who suddenly recognize TikTok as a vital means to engage with fans.

• TikTok resolves federal allegations of breaching U.S. children’s privacy regulations and consents to pay a $5.7 million penalty.

• The Washington Post outlines that while images of Hong Kong’s democracy protests and police crackdowns are prevalent on most social media platforms, they are notably absent on TikTok. The same article mentions that TikTok posts tagged with #trump2020 garnered over 70 million views.

• The company asserts that TikTok’s content moderation, carried out in the U.S., is not flawed and claims the app serves as a platform for amusement, not for political discourse.

• The Guardian reports on internal documents revealing that TikTok instructs its moderators to remove or diminish the reach of videos that address subjects sensitive to China, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and resultant massacre, Tibetan independence, or the sanctioned religious faction Falun Gong.

• U.S. lawmakers start to express concerns about TikTok’s influence, demanding a federal inquiry into its Musical.ly acquisition and a national security examination of TikTok and other Chinese-owned applications. Such investigations commenced in November, according to media reports.

• The Pentagon advises that all U.S. military personnel uninstall TikTok from their personal and government devices. Certain branches prohibit the app on military-owned devices. In January, the Pentagon forbids the app on all military phones.

• TikTok becomes the second-most downloaded app globally, based on data from analytics firm SensorTower.

• Privacy organizations submit a complaint claiming TikTok is still ignoring U.S. child-safety laws and violating a 2019 settlement agreement. The company asserts it “takes the matter of safety seriously” and continues to enhance its protections.

• TikTok enlists former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its chief executive officer in a clear effort to enhance its U.S. relations. Mayer departs three months later.

• India prohibits TikTok and various other Chinese apps following a border clash with China.
• President Donald Trump states he is considering prohibiting TikTok as a response to China’s purported mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

• Trump issues a far-reaching yet ambiguous executive order prohibiting American firms from any “transaction” with ByteDance and its affiliates, including TikTok. A few days later, he puts forth a second order demanding that ByteDance divest itself of TikTok’s U.S. operations within 90 days.

• Microsoft verifies it is looking into acquiring TikTok. The agreement never materializes; neither does a comparable proposition from Oracle and Walmart. Meanwhile, TikTok files a lawsuit against the Trump administration for alleged infringement of due process in its executive actions.

• Joe Biden is elected president. He does not propose new policies regarding TikTok and will not assume office until January, but Trump’s efforts to compel a sale of TikTok begin to fall apart anyway. The Trump administration lengthens the deadlines it had set for ByteDance and TikTok and eventually allows them to lapse entirely.

• Newly inaugurated President Joe Biden delays the legal proceedings related to Trump’s plan to prohibit TikTok, effectively bringing them to a standstill.

• TikTok announces it has surpassed one billion monthly active users.

• A Wall Street Journal report reveals that TikTok algorithms can inundate adolescents with a deluge of dangerous content such as videos endorsing extreme dieting, a type of eating disorder.

• TikTok introduces new guidelines to curb the dissemination of harmful content such as viral hoaxes and promotion of eating disorders.

• “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,” a project crafted by two enthusiasts of the Netflix series as a TikTok initiative, earns the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

• TikTok ascends to become the most downloaded app globally, outpacing Instagram, according to SensorTower statistics.

• BuzzFeed reports that employees of China-based ByteDance have frequently accessed the private information of TikTok users, based on leaked recordings from over 80 internal TikTok meetings. TikTok responds with an ambiguous statement praising its commitment to security that does not directly address the BuzzFeed report.

• TikTok also reveals it has transferred its user data to U.S.-based servers managed by U.S. tech company Oracle. However, that does not alleviate growing concern among U.S. officials regarding the possibility of Chinese authorities accessing U.S. user data.

• FBI Director Christopher Wray raises concerns about national security regarding TikTok, cautioning that Chinese officials could manipulate the app’s recommendation algorithm for influence operations.

• ByteDance also announced it terminated four employees who accessed data on journalists from Buzzfeed News and The Financial Times while trying to trace leaks of confidential information about the company.

• The White House provides federal agencies 30 days to guarantee TikTok is removed from all government-issued mobile devices. Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission caution that ByteDance could share TikTok user data with China’s authoritarian regime.

• Lawmakers question TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew during a six-hour congressional hearing where Chew, originally from Singapore, attempts to counter claims that TikTok and ByteDance function as tools of the Chinese government.

• TikTok stated it was limiting a tool some researchers utilize to examine popular videos on the platform.

• A proposal to ban TikTok or compel its sale to a U.S. entity gains momentum in Congress. TikTok brings numerous creators to Washington to urge lawmakers to back off, while highlighting changes the company has made to protect user data. TikTok also irritates legislators by sending notifications to users urging them to “speak up now” or face the risk of seeing TikTok banned; users subsequently inundate congressional offices with calls.

• The House of Representatives approves the TikTok ban-or-sell bill.

• The Senate follows suit, forwarding the bill to President Biden, who ratifies it.

• TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance file a lawsuit against the U.S. federal government to contest a law that would compel the sale of ByteDance’s stake or result in a ban, arguing that the law is unconstitutional.

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• Former President Donald Trump engages with TikTok and starts sharing campaign-themed content.
• Vice President Kamala Harris also gets on TikTok and begins uploading campaign-related content.
• A federal appellate court panel unanimously affirmed a statute that might result in a TikTok prohibition, delivering a significant setback to the favored social media service as it struggles for its existence in the U.S. The panel of justices dismissed the company’s opposition to the regulation, which it claimed was inconsistent with the First Amendment.

• President-elect Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court to suspend the upcoming TikTok ban until his administration can seek a “political resolution” to the matter.
• The Supreme Court unanimously validated the federal law prohibiting TikTok unless it’s transferred by its China-based parent company, asserting that the threat to national security from its Chinese connections outweighs concerns regarding restrictions on speech via the application. A prohibition is scheduled to commence on Jan. 19, 2025.
• TikTok users in the United States found themselves unable to view videos on the widely-used social media platform mere hours before a federal restriction was poised to go into effect.
• “A law imposing a ban on TikTok has been established in the U.S.,” a notification within the app noted. “Regrettably, this means you cannot access TikTok for the time being.”
• The company’s application was also pulled from major app stores, including those operated by Apple and Google, while its website notified users that the short video platform was no longer accessible.
• Shortly following the application going offline for U.S. users, Trump mentioned he would implement an executive order upon assuming office to provide TikTok with an extension to stay operational.
• A few hours afterward, TikTok reinstated access for users in the United States, stating that Trump had offered “the essential clarity and reassurance to our service providers that they will not incur any penalties for supplying TikTok to over 170 million Americans.”