The Taiwanese government has opened an investigation into the Chinese social media platform TikTok on suspicion of illegally operating a subsidiary on the island. However, the company’s owner has denied the charge.
TikTok, which is not widely used in Taiwan, has come under pressure primarily in the United States over concerns over China’s access to users’ data, which the company denies.
In a statement late Sunday, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council for China Policy said that on Dec. 9, a Cabinet task force found that TikTok was suspected of “illegal business operations” in Taiwan.
Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times reported that TikTok owner ByteDance set up a subsidiary on the island to do business, breaking Taiwanese law that says Chinese social media platforms are not allowed to do business on the island.
The Continental Affairs Council, responding to this report, said the Cabinet task force had found that there was indeed an alleged breach of law and that judicial 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.
“The company has not established any legal entities in Taiwan,” it said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without elaborating
Taiwan bans a wide range of Chinese business operations, from social media platforms to its popular chip manufacturing industry.
The council said that Taiwan has already banned government departments from using Chinese apps such as TikTok.
Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta Platforms, are the most used social media platforms in Taiwan. TikTok has followed its peers in Taiwan but is becoming increasingly popular among young people, according to market research firms.
Taiwan has long complained that China is using social media to spread disinformation about the island that Beijing claims as its territory.
In 2019, Taiwan passed an anti-infiltration law, part of a years-long effort to combat what many in Taiwan see as Chinese efforts to influence politics and the democratic process through the illicit funding of politicians, media, and other methods.