No, Facebook is not the friendly American giant, nor TikTok the evil Chinese who spies on its users on behalf of Beijing. Formerly at Disney, the boss of the micro-video platform Kevin Mayer knows a thing or two about Manichean scenarios. He doesn't want to take the wrong role in the one co-written by Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump.
In a column published Wednesday, the new American boss of the successful micro-video platform violently contested this view of things, pushed both by Facebook, which thus contests outrageously dominating the social media market, and by the White House , as part of its standoff with Beijing. “ TikTok has become the main target [of our competitors], but we are not an enemy, ” he pleads.
The survival of TikTok in the United States depends on which side succeeds in imposing its vision of things. The White House has been threatening for several weeks to ban the Chinese application on the grounds that it represents a threat to national security, as India did recently. On Wednesday, the US administration stepped up the pressure again, implying that a decision was imminent.
TikTok under federal investigation
Asked about the possibility of banning TikTok, Donald Trump replied Wednesday that " we were looking at the file, and that we think we make a decision ". “ TikTok is the subject of an investigation by CFIUS (the agency responsible for ensuring that foreign investments do not present a risk to national security Editor's note). We will make a recommendation to the president this week, ”US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said on Wednesday from the White House. In mid-July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not rule out banning the Chinese application from the United States.
Kevin Mayer wants to convince that TikTok is the real good guy and Facebook the real bad guy. The first Chinese social network to break through internationally is saving the market from Facebook's stranglehold, he says. “ It's unfortunate for creators, brands and the community at large that in years no company has emerged that reinvented what a social entertainment platform can be ,” continues Kevin Mayer. TikTok is doing just that. We have successfully injected competition into the market. “The argument can bear, while the elected representatives of Congress are questioning Mark Zuckerberg on possible abuses of a dominant position on the part of Facebook.
" We are waiting for you firmly "
“ At TikTok, we welcome competition , ” says Kevin Mayer. To our competitors, we say: we are waiting for you. And the boss to hit where it hurts: " Facebook launched a new product, carbon copy of TikTok, Reels , after Lasso, their first copy of our platform, quickly failed. Let us concentrate our energy on the basis of healthy and open competition (...), rather than on the sneak attacks of our competitor - Facebook to name it - which, under the guise of the patriot, only aims to put end to our presence on American soil. »And to ensure that without TikTok, the American advertisers would not have much choice to distribute their advertisements. " The competition would dry up, as would the outlets for American creative energy ," he asserts.
Faced with " sneaky attacks ", Kevin Mayer proposes to raise the level of play. TikTok is accused of spying on its American users for the benefit of China? The former Disney executive says that digital giants should be subject to " very high standards ". " We believe that all these companies should disclose to regulators their algorithms, their content moderation policy as well as their data flows ," he explains, taking on the role of the good guy. He recalls that TikTok has opened a center in California “ for transparency and accountability ” where experts can examine the platform's practices.
The sale of TikTok is not excluded
If, however, this is not enough to reassure TikTok's independence from China, Kevin Mayer suggests that his Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, could go so far as to sell a majority stake in TikTok. " We are ready to make all the decisions necessary to maintain the accessibility of TikTok in the long term ", he slips.
It is difficult not to understand it as a reference to the suggestions of some close to Donald Trump to cut all capital links between the social network and its Beijing parent company to escape ban. The economic adviser to the US president in fact declared on July 16 that " as has been reported in some places, I think TikTok will withdraw from the holding which is run by China and operate as an independent company ".
According to Reuters, two funds that have invested in ByteDance, Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, have offered to buy the Chinese unicorn a majority stake in TikTok at a price valuing the platform at around $ 50 billion.
