The United States is forcing TikTok to sell its platform domestically as concerns over a technology war rise in Silicon Valley. Video / Carson Bluck / Alyse Wright
A technology executive behind the United States TikTok divest-or-ban bill says America’s objective to eliminate the platform it’s deemed a national security threat should ultimately be positive for New Zealand, despite our relationship with China.
“I would hope New Zealand would thrive more in a world that is free, compared to a world that is unfree,” Jacob Helberg told Markets with Madison from San Francisco.
“I think it would make sense for any democracy that wants to preserve the vibrancy and the integrity of its public discourse domestically to look at restricting and requiring the divestiture of this company.”
The bipartisan action in the US against the social media platform owned by ByteDance was motivated by national security concerns, he said.
Helberg is an adviser to Alex Karp, CEO of defence tech company Palantir Technologies, and is a commissioner for the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission created by Congress.
He cited a Buzzfeed investigation named The TikTok Tapes where internal recordings suggested non-public US user data had been repeatedly accessed by ByteDance employees in China in 2021-22, and a Forbes investigation that alleged sensitive user information was stored in China.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement provided to the Herald that all US user data was stored domestically and therefore was not subject to China data law.
“Through our US$1.5b investment in Project Texas, all US data is stored domestically under the control of a US led security team, eliminating any concerns that user data could be subject to Chinese law. We’ve never been asked to share user data with the Chinese government, nor would we if asked.” The emailed statement read.
“We do not moderate content based on the political sensitivities of any government, including China’s. As a global company, we have teams around the world. This is no different to other well known global brands, including some Australian banks and telcos, that openly state in their privacy policies that they too have teams in China.”
TikTok has publicly announced it would defend the divestment order.
“Our community is also filled with 7 million business owners who have built their livelihoods on TikTok.” Chew said.
The company filed a petition stating the bill was “so obviously unconstitutional” in a federal court this month, seeking to overturn it.
Helberg said the divestiture bill gave TikTok about 21 months to sell the business.
The United States Senate voted to enforce TikTok, owned by ByteDance in China, to divest its platform domestically or face a ban. Photo / 123rf
His book released in 2021, The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power, explained how a technology war was unfolding between global superpowers.
“We need to make sure that we win the AI race,” he said.
“It’s so important because I think the narrower the gap gets in our technological capabilities and China’s, the less deterred China might be, and the higher the risk of political instability and potentially armed conflict.
Helberg said the relationship between technology leaders and policymakers in the US was strengthening — a clear cultural shift after previous rifts between them.
Watch him discuss the potential implications for companies such as Tesla and Apple, in today’s episode of Markets with Madison above.
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Madison Reidy is the host of the NZ Herald’s investment show Markets with Madison. She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment, and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters.
