From Dance Challenges to Data Dilemmas: The Evolution of TikTok into a National Security Concern

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If it seems like TikTok has been present forever, that’s likely because it indeed has, especially when considering the swift pace of the internet. What remains uncertain is if it will continue to exist for much longer and, if it does, in what capacity?

Beginning in 2017, when the Chinese social video platform merged with its rival Musical.ly, TikTok evolved from a specialized teenage application into an international trend influencer. Additionally, it has reportedly surfaced as a possible national security risk, according to U.S. authorities.

On April 24, President Joe Biden enacted legislation mandating TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to transfer ownership to a U.S. entity within one year or face closure. TikTok and its China-based parent organization, ByteDance, initiated legal action against the U.S., asserting that the security anxieties were exaggerated and that the law should be annulled as it infringes upon the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously endorsed the federal statute prohibiting TikTok, resulting in the widely-favored short video platform going offline in the U.S. — mere hours before the ban was set to take effect.

Here’s how TikTok reached this critical point:

March 2012

ByteDance is established in China by entrepreneur Zhang Yimin. Its initial successful product is Toutiao, a custom news aggregator for Chinese audiences.

July 2014

Startup Musical.ly, which later gained fame for its eponymous platform for posting short lip-sync music videos, is founded in China by entrepreneur Alex Zhu.

July 2015

Musical.ly reaches #1 in the Apple App Store, following a design alteration that made the company’s logo more prominent when users shared their videos.

2016

ByteDance launches Douyin, a video-sharing app targeted at Chinese users. Its success motivates the company to create a version for global users dubbed TikTok.

November 2017

ByteDance acquires Musical.ly for $1 billion. Nine months later, it merges with TikTok.

Driven by an algorithm that promotes binge-watching, users begin to share an array of videos on the app, including dance routines, cooking demonstrations, and numerous “challenges” that range from earnest to humorous in nature.

February 2019

Rapper Lil Nas X launches the country-trap hit “Old Town Road” on TikTok, where it becomes a sensation and drives the song to a record-breaking 17 weeks in the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This movement ignites a surge of TikTok content from music artists who suddenly recognize TikTok as an essential tool to connect with fans.

TikTok resolves federal allegations of breaching U.S. child-privacy regulations and agrees to remit a $5.7 million penalty.

September 2019

The Washington Post reports that while images of Hong Kong democracy demonstrations and police crackdowns are prevalent on most social media platforms, they are strangely missing on TikTok. This same article highlights 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 responsible and claims the app serves as an outlet for entertainment, not politics.

The Guardian unveils internal documents that reportedly outline how TikTok directs its moderators to eliminate or minimize the visibility of videos related to sensitive subjects for China such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent massacre, Tibetan independence, or the sanctioned religious group Falun Gong.

October 2019

U.S. politicians begin sounding alarms regarding TikTok’s sway, pushing for a federal investigation into its acquisition of Musical.ly and a national security examination into TikTok and other apps owned by Chinese entities. That investigation is launched in November, according to media reports.

December 2019

The Pentagon advises that all U.S. military staff remove TikTok from their smartphones, whether personal or government-issued. Several services prohibit the app on military-owned devices. In January, the Pentagon enacts a complete ban on the app from all military smartphones.

TikTok becomes the second-most downloaded application globally, as reported by analytics firm SensorTower.

May 2020

Privacy organizations submit a complaint asserting TikTok is still infringing upon U.S. child-protection laws and disregarding a 2019 settlement agreement. The company asserts it “takes the matter of safety seriously” and is continuously enhancing its protections.

TikTok appoints former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its chief executive officer in a clear effort to bolster its relations in the U.S. Mayer steps down three months later.

July 2020

India prohibits TikTok and many other Chinese applications in response to a border clash with China.

President Donald Trump states he is considering a ban on TikTok as a counteraction to China’s perceived mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis.

August 2020

Trump issues a comprehensive yet vague executive directive prohibiting American firms from engaging in any “transaction” with ByteDance and its subsidiaries, including

TikTok. A few days later, he issues a subsequent directive demanding that ByteDance divest its interests in TikTok’s U.S. operations within 90 days.

Microsoft affirms it is considering the acquisition of TikTok. The transaction never comes to fruition; nor does a comparable proposal from Oracle and Walmart. In the meantime, TikTok files a lawsuit against the Trump administration for purported breach of due process in its executive actions.

November 2020

Joe Biden is elected as president. He does not propose a new policy regarding TikTok and will not assume office until January, yet Trump’s intentions to compel a TikTok sale begin to disintegrate. The Trump administration prolongs the deadlines it placed on ByteDance and TikTok and ultimately allows them to lapse entirely.

February 2021

Newly inaugurated President Joe Biden delays the legal disputes associated with Trump’s attempt to ban TikTok, effectively bringing them to a standstill.

September 2021

TikTok announces it surpasses a billion monthly active users.

December 2021

A Wall Street Journal report reveals TikTok’s algorithms can inundate teenagers with a deluge of damaging content such as videos suggesting severe dieting, a type of eating disorder.

February 2022

TikTok introduces new guidelines to discourage the dissemination of harmful content like viral hoaxes and the promotion of eating disorders.

April 2022

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

TikTok becomes the most downloaded application globally, surpassing Instagram, according to SensorTower data.

June 2022

BuzzFeed reports that China-based ByteDance staff have repeatedly accessed private information of TikTok users, based on leaked recordings from over 80 internal TikTok meetings. TikTok reacts with a non-specific statement emphasizing its commitment to security, which does not directly address the BuzzFeed report.

TikTok also proclaims it has transferred its user data to U.S. servers operated by the U.S. technology firm Oracle. However, this does not allay new concerns among U.S. officials regarding the risk of Chinese authorities accessing U.S. user data.

December 2022

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

ByteDance also announced it let go of four employees who accessed data on journalists from Buzzfeed News and The Financial Times while trying to locate leaks of sensitive materials pertaining to the company.

February 2023

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

March 2023

Legislators scrutinize TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew during a six-hour congressional hearing where Chew, a native of Singapore, attempts to counter claims that TikTok and ByteDance are instruments of the Chinese government.

January 2024

TikTok stated it was limiting an instrument some researchers use to assess popular videos on the platform.

March 2024

A proposal to ban TikTok or compel its sale to a U.S. firm gains momentum in Congress. TikTok invites dozens of its creators to Washington to urge lawmakers to reconsider, while highlighting changes the company has implemented to safeguard user data. TikTok also irritates legislators by sending alerts to users encouraging them to “speak up now” or face the possibility of TikTok being banned; users subsequently inundate congressional offices with calls.

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

April 2024

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

May 2024

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance sue the U.S. federal government to contest a law that would necessitate the sale of ByteDance’s stake or risk a ban, asserting that the law is unconstitutional.

June 2024

Former President Donald Trump joins TikTok and begins sharing campaign-related content.

July 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris joins TikTok and also starts posting campaign-related content.

Dec. 6, 2024

A federal appeals court panel unanimously upheld a law that could result in a TikTok ban, delivering a significant setback to the popular social media platform as it strives for its existence in the U.S. The panel of judges rejected the company’s challenge to the statute, which it argued violated the First Amendment.

Dec. 27, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay the potential TikTok ban from being enacted until his administration can seek a “political resolution” to the matter.

Jan. 17, 2025

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company, stating that the threats to national security associated with its connections to China outweigh concerns regarding restrictions on speech by the app. A ban is set to commence on Jan. 19, 2025.

Jan. 18, 2025

TikTok users in the United States were barred from viewing videos on the widely-used social media platform just hours before a federal ban was scheduled to take effect.

“A law prohibiting TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” a message in the app stated. “Regrettably that means you cannot access TikTok for the time being.”

The company’s application was also removed from major app stores, including those operated by Apple and Google, while its website informed users that the short-form video platform was no longer available.