TikTok reveals ‘kill switch’ offer to US government to avoid ban

In a word: TikTok has revealed that it has proposed a “kill switch” to the US government in 2022 to address concerns about data protection and national security. The ByteDance-owned app made the offer as part of its efforts to prevent a ban in the United States.

According to TikTok, the proposed “kill switch” would have given the US government the power to shut down the platform at its sole discretion if certain rules were not followed. These rules were outlined in a draft “national security agreement” that TikTok presented to the government in August 2022. The agreement also included provisions such as adequately funding data protection units and ensuring that ByteDance does not does not have access to the data of American users.

However, TikTok claims that despite its efforts to address the government’s concerns, U.S. officials stopped any substantive negotiations after the proposal was made. In a letter to the Justice Department, TikTok’s lawyer claims the government ignored requests for additional meetings and did not respond to an invitation to inspect the company’s dedicated transparency center in Maryland.

The disclosure comes as TikTok and ByteDance begin their legal battle against legislation that would force the sale of the app’s U.S. assets or face a nationwide ban. The companies say the law represents a significant break with America’s tradition of promoting an open internet and sets a dangerous precedent by targeting a specific platform.

The legal battle over the future of TikTok in the United States will intensify in the coming months. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hold oral arguments in September on lawsuits filed by users of TikTok, ByteDance and TikTok. The legislation, signed by President Joe Biden in April, gives ByteDance until January 2025 to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban.

Despite the growing pains, ByteDance continues to experiment in the social media space. The company is currently testing a new app called Whee, which offers a private photo sharing experience similar to Instagram – although it is currently not available in the US.

Concerns about TikTok stem from fears that the app could share data belonging to its 170 million U.S. users with the Chinese government. TikTok has always denied these allegations, saying that US data does not leave the country and is overseen by US company Oracle in an agreement called Project Texas.

Worse still, the issue has also entered the European political landscape. Last month, the president of the European Commission did not rule out the possibility of a similar ban on TikTok in Europe, citing security risks posed by the app.