US Ambassador Calls Beijing's Position Regarding TikTok Ban ‘Very Ironic’

Beijing's stance on a possible Tik Tok ban in the US, according to the US ambassador to China, is “supremely ironic” in light of the Communist Party's internal internet platform censorship.

A bill that would require the immensely popular short-video app to sever ties with its Chinese parent business or risk being banned nationally was overwhelmingly approved by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.

China has criticized the approval harshly, calling legislators' actions “unjustly suppressing foreign companies” and denouncing Washington's “bandit” mindset.

When asked about the opportunities for US public diplomacy in China, he responded, “They won't even let Tik Tok be available to 1.4 billion Chinese.”

China's government actively monitors the internet's dissemination of information and removes anything from social media that it considers to be politically sensitive.

Operation of numerous Western platforms, such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram, is prohibited in the nation.

Tik Tok's Chinese parent company Byte Dance also runs a separate version of the app inside China called Douyin.

The true irony

Retaliating to Burns's remarks on Friday, China declared that the US position on the app was “the real irony.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded that the US “is making every effort to use national power to suppress Tik Tok” in response to a question regarding the ambassador's seminar.

“A country that prides itself on free speech and claims to be a free-market economy is willing to use the power of the state to crack down on specific companies,” Wang said.

“That's the real irony.”

Concerning Tik Tok's explosive growth, a few Western governments have claimed that Beijing controls the app, a claim that Tik Tok refutes.