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Can TikTok convince the West it is not a tool for China?
Facing new restrictions and calls to be banned in the US and Europe, the popular app faces a fight for its future
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TikTok insists it is separate from its Chinese owner, but ByteDance undeniably has a tight grip on the company.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Cristina Criddle, Hannah Murphy and Demetri Sevastopulo
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On the face of it, TikTok makes for an unlikely threat to national security.
With its snackable, seconds-long videos of viral dances and comical voice-overs, it is one of the most used apps in the West, and embedded in the culture of a generation of young people. It now claims more than one billion users worldwide and is estimated to generate more than US$10 billion (S$13 billion) in revenue.
