TikTok’s Geopolitics
the ban controversy amidst the US-China dispute
Keywords:
geopolitics, digital platforms, TikTokAbstract
This article analyzes the controversies surrounding the attempts to ban TikTok in the United States, framing them as part of a broader geopolitical dispute between the U.S. and China. Drawing on a qualitative approach, the study examines news articles published between 2020 and 2024 in The New York Times and Global Times. It identifies three main fronts of conflict advanced by the U.S. government: national security and data protection, allega tions of algorithmic bias, and efforts to force the sale of the platform. The article argues that these tensions reflect not only concerns over digital sovereignty but also strategic efforts to maintain U.S. technological hegemony in the face of the growing influence of Chinese platforms. It concludes that TikTok functions as a catalyst for anxieties over China’s technological rise in the 21st century, becoming a symbolic arena for ongoing geopolitical transformations in the platformized era.
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