{"id":257295,"date":"2021-05-24T09:14:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T06:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-2\/"},"modified":"2021-05-24T09:14:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T06:14:06","slug":"how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-2\/","title":{"rendered":"#How \u2018digital nationalism\u2019 threatens to entrench Big Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfc855ea73\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfc855ea73\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-2\/#TikTok_is_the_first_major_non-US_platform\" >TikTok is the first major non-US platform<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-2\/#Platform_geopolitics\" >Platform geopolitics<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-2\/#Trumps_TikTok_challenge\" >Trump\u2019s TikTok challenge<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-2\/#The_rise_of_digital_nationalism\" >The rise of digital nationalism<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#How \u2018digital nationalism\u2019 threatens to entrench Big Tech<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>The massive digital platform market has until recently been dominated by a handful of US-based companies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> and Google. However, as foreign governments and competing platforms try to erode this domination, platforms are becoming a new sphere of geopolitical maneuvering.<\/p>\n<p>The European Union wants to gain more control over international tech companies and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/RegData\/etudes\/BRIE\/2020\/651992\/EPRS_BRI(2020)651992_EN.pdf\">achieve<\/a> more independence in the digital arena. India has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-india-china-apps-idUSKBN29U2GJ\">banned<\/a> 177 Chinese <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>s on the grounds they are \u201cprejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And in 2020, the then US President Donald Trump spent months attempting to ban the Chinese-made video-sharing platform TikTok or force its sale to an American owner. While some claimed <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2020\/08\/06\/donald-trump-tiktok-ban-trolls-take-responsibility-tulsa-pranks-china\/\">Trump was piqued<\/a> by a supposed <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/tiktok-teens-and-the-trump-campaign-how-social-media-amplifies-political-activism-and-threatens-election-integrity-141266\">prank<\/a> against him by teenage TikTok users, a look at statements from US government officials over the course of the year shows <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/policyreview.info\/articles\/analysis\/geopolitics-platforms-tiktok-challenge\">geopolitical concerns were the main driver<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If governments continue to be driven by \u201cdigital nationalism\u201d, the US-based big tech companies are likely to continue to dominate.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TikTok_is_the_first_major_non-US_platform\"><\/span>TikTok is the first major non-US platform<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>TikTok is the first social media platform born outside the United States to become a significant rival to Silicon Valley incumbents such as Facebook and Instagram. The short-form video platform rose to prominence in 2019 and, by early 2020, was the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/johnkoetsier\/2021\/01\/07\/here-are-the-10-most-downloaded-apps-of-2020\/\">most downloaded<\/a> app globally.<\/p>\n<p>Since its rise, TikTok has come under <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/science\/2020-07-08\/tiktok-national-safety-china-social-media-ban\/12434308\">intense criticism<\/a> from governments around the world, who question whether ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, sufficiently protects users\u2019 data against access by the Chinese state.<\/p>\n<p>However, the way TikTok treats user data is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/2020\/08\/06\/tiktok-any-worse-privacy-and-data-mining-than-facebook\/3311726001\/\">not very different<\/a> from what its US counterparts do. There is little to suggest the platform poses any singular national security threat.<\/p>\n<p>The company releases <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.tiktok.com\/en-au\/tiktoks-h-2-2020-transparency-report-aunz\">transparency reports<\/a> similar to those of Google and Facebook. A CIA assessment <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/07\/us\/politics\/tiktok-security-threat.html\">reportedly<\/a> concluded there was no evidence the Chinese government had intercepted TikTok data.<\/p>\n<p>TikTok\u2019s Chinese origins can be used to oversimplify the platform\u2019s actual territorial connection to China. ByteDance was founded in China but it is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and operates as a multinational with subsidiaries in Australia, the US, the UK and Singapore.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Platform_geopolitics\"><\/span>Platform geopolitics<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The backdrop to Trump\u2019s stance towards TikTok was an intensifying contest between the US and China over the strategic value of the digital environment. Who gets to extract economic value from the platform economy? Who gets to exert ideological influence through vast sociotechnical systems? Who enjoys strategic advantages from control over and access to data and infrastructure?<\/p>\n<p>As today\u2019s global tech platforms have developed, they have largely mirrored the shape of classical geopolitics: the US has dominated. Recently, however, Chinese <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> firms have flourished, expanding China\u2019s economic and strategic capacities.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trumps_TikTok_challenge\"><\/span>Trump\u2019s TikTok challenge<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>TikTok teens may have successfully pranked Trump, but his actions and rhetoric fit within a geopolitical agenda articulated by others within the administration.<\/p>\n<p>On June 24, 2020, US national security advisor Robert O\u2019Brien <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/china.usc.edu\/robert-o%E2%80%99brien-chinese-communist-party%E2%80%99s-ideology-and-global-ambitions-june-24-2020\">spoke publicly<\/a> on the topic of the Chinese government\u2019s \u201cideology and global ambitions\u201d. He warned China posed a threat to US citizens and explicitly implicated TikTok.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks later, on July 6, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-53319955\">suggested<\/a> TikTok should be treated like Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company that is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/usa-huawei-tech\/exclusive-trump-admin-slams-chinas-huawei-halting-shipments-from-intel-others-sources-idUSL1N2JS0HT\">effectively banned<\/a> in the US.<\/p>\n<p>On July 31, 2020, Trump announced he was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2020\/07\/31\/tiktok-trump-divestiture\/\">planning<\/a> to ban TikTok.<\/p>\n<p>Several days later, Microsoft released a statement explaining that its representatives had spoken to Trump directly regarding the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/03\/technology\/trump-tiktok-microsoft.html\">acquisition of TikTok<\/a>. When questioned about his talks with Microsoft, Trump stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>[\u2026] it can\u2019t be controlled, for security reasons, by China. Too big, too invasive, and it can\u2019t be.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On August 5, 2020, the US Department of State <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/2017-2021.state.gov\/secretary-michael-r-pompeo-at-a-press-availability-10\/index.html\">announced<\/a> an expansion of its Clean Network program, which has the stated objective of \u201cguarding our citizens\u2019 privacy and our companies\u2019 most sensitive information from aggressive intrusions by malign actors, such as the Chinese Communist Party\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Expansions to the program included five policies aimed at reducing the presence of China in the US. These policies limited the use of Chinese telecommunication carriers, applications sold in app stores and pre-installed on devices, cloud services and undersea cables.<\/p>\n<p>The following day, Trump issued an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-08-07\/trump-issues-tiktok-executive-order\/12533938\">executive order<\/a> forcing the sale of TikTok to a US company on the grounds that TikTok posed a threat to \u201cthe national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately Trump\u2019s executive orders were blocked in the courts and the ban and forced sale never implemented.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_rise_of_digital_nationalism\"><\/span>The rise of digital nationalism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>TikTok provides welcomed competition to the platform incumbents. If real competition in the sector were to increase, requiring the incumbent platforms to compete for users, we might see further innovations in the platform market and a less concentrated tech sector.<\/p>\n<p>So far, however, the US government has explicitly focused on the geopolitical implications of the rise of a Chinese platform. Whether the Biden administration will continue this approach remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p>Both the US and China have a long history of shielding strategically important industries. For those concerned with increasing competition and diluting the concentrated power of the dominant technology firms, the rise of digital nationalism is a new obstacle.<\/p>\n<p>Moving forward, policymakers may need to overcome nationalistic impulses if they are to increase global competition in the international platform market. And both US and Chinese rule must be rejected if we are to decentralize power within the digital environment.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/160919\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/160919\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/joanne-gray-873764\">Joanne Gray<\/a>, Lecturer in School of Communications, Chief Investigator Digital Media Research Centre, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/queensland-university-of-technology-847\">Queensland University of Technology<\/a>,\u00a0is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/tiktok-and-geopolitics-how-digital-nationalism-threatens-to-entrench-big-tech-160919\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/digital-nationalism-threatens-entrench-big-tech-tiktok-syndication\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How \u2018digital nationalism\u2019 threatens to entrench Big Tech&#8221; The massive digital platform market has until recently been dominated by a handful of US-based companies such as Facebook and Google. However, as foreign governments and competing platforms try to erode this domination, platforms are becoming a new sphere of geopolitical maneuvering. The European Union wants to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":257296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/05\/US-China-goepolitics-TikTok-hed.jpg&signature=71a1280d476c6542a7e4af62e2fff3c5","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}