Taiwan launches probe into TikTok for suspected illegal commercial operations
- Beijing-based ByteDance has reportedly set up a subsidiary on the island to tout for business, an accusation that TikTok denies
- Taiwanese law bans mainland Chinese social media platforms from running commercial operations on the self-ruled island
TikTok, which is not widely used in Taiwan, has come under pressure mostly in the United States on concerns about China getting access to users’ personal data, which the company denies.
In a statement late on Sunday, Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said that on December 9 a working group under the Cabinet had discovered that TikTok was suspected of “illegal commercial operations” in Taiwan.
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Taiwan’s Liberty Times newspaper reported that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, had set up a subsidiary on the island to tout for business, contravening Taiwanese law that Chinese social media platforms are not allowed commercial operations on the island.
The Mainland Affairs Council, responding to that report, said the Cabinet’s working group had discovered that there was indeed a suspected breach of the law, and legal authorities were investigating.
“In recent years, the mainland side has used short video platforms like TikTok to carry out cognitive operations and infiltration against other countries, and there is a high risk the Chinese government is collecting users’ personal information,” it added.
However, ByteDance said “recent reports” suggesting it has set up a subsidiary in Taiwan were incorrect.