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Is time up for TikTok on Taiwan? Island weighs ban over ‘cognitive warfare’ fears
- Authorities say Beijing is using the social media site to erode confidence in the government through ridicule and corruption claims
- Some lawmakers say it is time to hit back but others caution that the platform is an important source of income for many
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Lawrence Chungin Taipei
Taiwan is mulling whether to ban TikTok, a social media site that the island’s authorities say Beijing is using to erode the public’s confidence in the government.
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The self-governed island has already banned the mainland Chinese-invested social media platform from public sector devices over concerns about security and what it says is a campaign of “cognitive warfare”.
But authorities have hesitated to extend the bans to the private sector and personal devices because of the implications for freedom of speech and information.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau alleges that Beijing is increasingly using TikTok, known on the mainland as Douyin, as a tool to influence the island’s public and wear down their confidence in the government.
Bureau director Chen Ming-tong said in May that Beijing had been training and paying Taiwanese to influence young people on media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Xiaohongshu, the Chinese equivalent of Instagram, as part of its “cognitive warfare” against the island.
The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau said it was looking into reports that TikTok had been used to distribute videos alleging Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and her government were corrupt, and ridiculing the island’s defences.
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The warnings prompted lawmakers to call for countermeasures targeting the influence campaigns.
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