(NewsNation) — TikTok is facing more bans, this time with the African countries of Senegal, Somalia and Kenya, even as the popular social media app faces scrutiny from lawmakers in the U.S. and Europe.
The short video app has exploded in popularity, particularly among young people. However, many countries have begun to raise concerns about the content the app feeds to underage users as well as potential security problems.
While TikTok is based in Singapore, parent company ByteDance is based in China, leading to concerns that the Chinese Communist Party could be using the app to gather intelligence information from users.
In Kenya, TikTok continues to operate after agreeing with the country’s parliament to reduce sexually explicit content that appears on live channels late at night. The app was officially banned in Somalia over violent extremist content as the country deals with the terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
As for Senegal, authorities say they made the app inaccessible due to hateful and subversive messages; however, human rights groups say the decision was made to quiet criticism of the government.
Other countries have already banned TikTok. India instituted a ban in 2020, but years later, reports show TikTok and ByteDance still had access to data collected from users.
The European Union has banned TikTok from official devices as have other countries, including the U.S., Canada and Australia. U.S. lawmakers have also launched inquiries into the app, fearing China could be using the social network to gather information on U.S. citizens or to push propaganda favorable to the communist country.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has defended the app, insisting it is not a Chinese company but a Singaporean one. Chew has also committed to building infrastructure that would keep U.S. data on U.S. soil rather than on servers in China.
