ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming has recently called by the U.S. government lawyers a 'mouthpiece' of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This was quoted according to the recent legal filing in the Department of Justice over the possible U.S. ban on the company's app, TikTok.
Is TikTok related to the Chinese Communist Party?
A paramilitary policeman guards in front of an emblem of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at Tiananmen Square on June 28, 2011 in Beijing, China. This year's celebrations will mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the founding and governing party of the People's Republic of China. Interestingly, a lot of negative things are attached to this organization, especially amid pandemic.
And now, it recently adds the name of ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming. In the recent DOF filing of US government lawyers on the TikTok ban hearing, the Trump administration called the chief the 'mouthpiece' of the CCP.
It alleges that Zhang has a profound connection or 'commitment' to the organization, making it dangerous for each Americans' safety and security using their video-sharing app.
It also explains that the CEO already had public announcements showing he was 'committed to promoting' the CCP.
On Aug. 8, Tech Times quoted The Epoch Times wherein they reportedly found leaked documents saying over 130 ByteDance employees were also members of the Communist party--most of them were high-ranking officials.
James Carafano, vice president of The Heritage Foundation's Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, also told in the report that these claims could be true.
"It's a Chinese-owned company," he said. "You have no confidence in the software. You have no confidence in their handling of data. And you have no confidence that they're independent of Chinese direction."
On the other hand, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) clarified that there were still 'no evidence' proving these CCP allegations.
What will happen to TikTok now?
In this photo illustration, the TikTok app is displayed on an Apple iPhone on August 7, 2020 in Washington, DC. On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bans any transactions between the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, and U.S. citizens due to national security reasons. The president signed a separate executive order banning transactions with China-based tech company Tencent, which owns the app WeChat. Both orders are set to take effect in 45 days.
As you all know, TikTok and the U.S. government have been in a huge controversy together.
Upon President Trump signing executive order of Chinese ban apps, the video-sharing app was given a schedule to make up on their country's investments.
However, TikTok's team has not yet declared loss on the subject and continued to file charges against the U.S.
The U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols has scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Sunday to decide whether the Trump administration's ban will take effect.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Jamie Pancho
