Taiwan Investigates TikTok for Illegally Operating a Subsidiary in Its Territory

TikTok received a negative response in Taiwan. (photo: twitter @tiktok_US)

JAKARTA - The Taiwanese government has opened an investigation into Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok over suspicions of operating the subsidiary illegally in the island nation. Taiwan also warned that the social media platform was used by Beijing to spread disinformation.

TikTok, which is not widely used in Taiwan, has come under pressure mostly in the United States over fears that China is gaining access to users' private data. However, ByteDance has denied this accusation as the owner of the platform.

In a statement late Sunday, December 18, Taiwan's policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said that on December 9 a working group under the Cabinet had found that TikTok was suspected of carrying out "illegal commercial operations" in Taiwan.

Taiwan's Liberty Times newspaper reported that TikTok owner ByteDance had set up a subsidiary on the island to promote the business, in violation of Taiwanese law that Chinese social media platforms are not allowed to operate commercially on the island.

The Mainland Affairs Council, responding to the report, said a Cabinet working group had found that there was indeed an alleged violation of law, and legal authorities were investigating.

"In recent years, the mainland side has used short video platforms such as TikTok to carry out cognitive and infiltration operations against other countries, and there is a high risk of the Chinese government collecting users' personal information," he added.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters about the report.

Taiwan bans various Chinese business operations on the island from social media platforms to high-value chip manufacturing industries.

"Taiwan has banned government departments from using apps from China such as TikTok," the council said.

Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta Platforms, are the most used social media platforms in Taiwan. TikTok is trailing its counterparts in Taiwan but is becoming increasingly popular among young people.

Taiwan has long complained that China uses social media to spread disinformation on the island that Beijing claims as its territory.

In 2019, Taiwan passed anti-infiltration laws, part of a years-long effort to combat what many in Taiwan see as China's attempts to influence politics and democratic processes, through the illegal funding of politicians and media and other methods.