What is America to do about TikTok? Its quirky videos have attracted 150mn active US users. Yet US officials fear Beijing could subvert the Chinese-owned app to spy on Americans or spread propaganda. Many parents, meanwhile, worry about TikTok’s impact on teenage mental health. Talks with a US watchdog over the app’s plans to ringfence US data on American servers have foundered. CEO Shou Zi Chew’s recent appearance before lawmakers failed to assuage their concerns. The Biden Administration has issued an ultimatum to TikTok’s Chinese owners: sell the US unit — which Beijing has said it would oppose — or face a potential ban. But a ban would infuriate legions of young Americans.
美國(guó)該拿TikTok怎么辦？它稀奇古怪的視頻吸引了1.5億美國(guó)活躍用戶。然而，美國(guó)官員擔(dān)心，北京方面可能會(huì)暗中利用這款中資所有的應(yīng)用監(jiān)視美國(guó)人或散播宣傳材料。與此同時(shí)，許多家長(zhǎng)擔(dān)心TikTok對(duì)青少年心理健康有不良影響。該應(yīng)用計(jì)劃將美國(guó)用戶數(shù)據(jù)存放在美國(guó)服務(wù)器上保護(hù)起來(lái)，但與美國(guó)監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)就這一計(jì)劃進(jìn)行的談判已經(jīng)失敗。TikTok首席執(zhí)行官周受資(Shou Zi Chew)最近在國(guó)會(huì)接受議員質(zhì)詢，但未能打消他們的疑慮。拜登(Biden)政府向TikTok的中國(guó)所有者發(fā)出了最后通牒：如不出售TikTok（北京方面已表示反對(duì)出售），TikTok可能被封禁。但封禁TikTok會(huì)惹惱許多美國(guó)年輕人。