Owned by the world’s most valuable startup, the video app is facing accusations of censorship while it has soared around the world

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TikTok, a Chinese video-sharing app that has exploded in popularity worldwide, recently came under fire for criticizing content that Beijing considers unacceptable.

TikTok is owned by Bytedance, one of the most valuable startups in the world. Its mainland Chinese version buzz is called Douyin, whose translation means “wobbly sound”. But the non-Chinese version of TikTok, which boasts SoftBank and Sequoia Capital as sponsors, has become the go-to short video app for users from the US to Europe and Asia.

The app is similar to the now-defunct Vine, which featured short catchy videos that looped and allowed users to easily share them on social media.

But the company remains under Chinese jurisdiction, and has been reviewed for removing content deemed sensitive to Beijing.

In a free speech forum Thursday at Georgetown University, Facebook’s mark Zuckerberg took a swipe at TikTok, seen by many as a rival to the us video-sharing company’s dominance.

Zuckerberg took aim at the democratic protests that have rocked Hong Kong for months.

“While our services like WhatsApp are used by protesters and activists around the world because of strong encryption and privacy protections, on TikTok, the Chinese app is growing rapidly around the world, mentions of these protests are censored, even in the US. Is this the Internet we want? He said.

TikTok denies that it is influenced by Chinese government pressure and refutes Zuckerberg’s claim that it is removing or restricting content at the request of the world’s second-largest economy.

Zuckerberg’s comments came just weeks after U.S. Senator Marco Rubio asked the U.S. government to investigate Tiktok’s actions.

Among his complaints, Rubio claims that Tiktok deleted videos related to the Hong Kong protests.

The Florida Republican later added that ” the Chinese government’s nefarious efforts to censor information within free societies around the world cannot be accepted and pose serious long-term problems for the US and our allies.”

Rubio’s request came after the U.S. passed an expanded mandate For the Committee on foreign investment in the United States, or Cfius, which reviews acquisitions of foreign firms for national security risks.

Although TikTok said it does not censor its content, the bytedance owner has filed to Beijing’s demands more than once. Earlier this year, at the request of the government, it suspended its popular news-aggregating website Jinri Toutiao, and shut down jokes app Neihan Duanzi, which has become one of the company’s biggest draws.

Despite accusations of censorship, Bytedance remains formidable up-and-coming in the whale tech scene. TikTok parent boasts an estimated value of $ 75 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, and is working on an initial public offering expected this year or next, the newspaper reported back in June, citing people familiar with the matter.

From Tencent has been a cause for concern. In 2018, the Chinese government stopped approving new online games – the company’s main revenue line. Although Beijing has resumed allowing new titles, the freeze hit Tencent at a time when Bytedance is rapidly gaining popularity.

China’s new media landscape is known to be a cutthroat. Bytedance itself has faced several challengers, most recently from startup Kuaishou, which is backed by Tencent, and is rumored to be planning an IPO this year, Bloomberg News reported last month.

But his hardest task may be in balancing his acceptance in freer Western markets while it continues to threaten powerful incumbents at home in China.

Tanner brown is a contributor to MarketWatch and Barron and producer of the Caixin-Sinica business Brief podcast.

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