ByteDance—ByteDance withdrew TikTok from Hong Kong following National Security Law rather than comply with data request provisions
On July 7, 2020, ByteDance announced it would withdraw TikTok from the Hong Kong market following the National Security Law's passage. A TikTok spokesperson stated users in Hong Kong would no longer be able to download or use the app. The withdrawal avoided putting ByteDance in the position of either refusing Chinese government data requests (risking mainland operations) or complying with requests that could identify protesters. This was notable given ByteDance's Chinese ownership and mainland China operations.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authoritarian Compliance | -against | primary | +1.00 |
| User Privacy | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.498 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)× agency (reactive ×0.75)
Evidence (1 signal)
ByteDance announced TikTok withdrawal from Hong Kong on July 7, 2020 - first internet service to exit after NSL
On July 7, 2020, ByteDance announced it had 'decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong' in response to China's National Security Law enacted in late June 2020. TikTok stated: 'In light of recent events, we've decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong.' By July 10, TikTok was no longer available for download on iPhones or Android devices in Hong Kong. TikTok became the first internet service to withdraw from Hong Kong after the NSL's enactment. Hong Kong was a small market with 150,000 users as of August 2019. The withdrawal avoided forcing ByteDance to choose between refusing Chinese government data requests or complying with requests that could identify protesters.