Between intense control over TikTok, WeChat, the essential tool for the daily life of the Chinese people, it is also taking the heat from the United States
White House commercial consultant Peter Navarro told Fox Business on Sunday that "[TikTok] and WeChat are the largest forms of censorship on the Chinese mainland and therefore expect strong actions in this regard. "
Navarro said that "all the data that goes into those mobile apps that kids have so much fun with and seems so convenient, goes directly to the servers in China, the Chinese military, the Chinese Communist Party and the agencies they want to steal the our intellectual property. "
The biggest difference between the limitation of the two apps is the demographics that will be affected: outside of China, WeChat is mainly used by the Chinese diaspora and foreign companies with a footprint or connection in China, while TikTok is mainly used by young people local users on international markets.
While WeChat feeds a myriad of daily activities in China, from paying in a restaurant to booking a medical appointment, the function of the app is mainly limited to messaging outside of China as foreign competitors fill its role in other areas.
It's unclear how U.S. restrictions will end, although some WeChat users are already speculating on alternative solutions to stay in touch with family and friends at home. In the event that the messenger owned by Tencent is removed from the Apple App Store or Google Play, users based in the United States may switch to another regional store to download the app . If it were an IP address ban, they could potentially access the app via virtual private networks (VPN), tools familiar to many in China to access online services blocked by the Great Firewall of Beijing.
VPNs aren't necessarily for combating censorship. It is not uncommon to see overseas Chinese set their IP address on their home country to stream shows on Chinese video platforms that are not available overseas due to licensing restrictions.
Navarro's message came shortly after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed that the United States government is trying to ban TikTok. Launched by the Chinese internet ByteDance, TikTok has worked to distance itself from its Chinese association through efforts such as storing data on American soil and reviewing its corporate structure.
American companies are responding to politicians' request to boycott TikTok over security concerns. Wells Fargo told employees to remove TikTok from their phones. Amazon asked its staff to do the same, but quickly took a step back from its question.
