How TikTok went from lip-sync videos to geopolitics

The gay dating app Grindr had faced similar questions about its Chinese ownership.China's broader global ambitions had also become the subject of growing concern, particularly as it began to export its surveillance technology.It wasn't until the middle of 2020 that TikTok would become the focal point of the escalating tension between the U.S. and China about national security — boosted by a political backdrop in which Trump has sought to blame China for the coronavirus pandemic.The public discussion of TikTok began to change in late June, shortly after TikTok users took credit for inflating the expectations for the crowd at a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Trump's allies have warned that TikTok represents a national security threat: TikTok collects user data, and Chinese law gives it unfettered access to domestic data.“Research has shown there's not much difference between what kind of data TikTok is collecting currently and other major social media companies,” said Yaqui Wang, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch.“What's concerning is not what's being done right now.