Zhang Yiming

The Indian government blocked TikTok alongside 58 other Chinese apps, citing risks to sovereignty, integrity, defence, state security and data protection. India was then one of TikTok's largest markets.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The Trump administration cited national security and data collection risks in attempting to prohibit certain transactions with TikTok and pressure ByteDance to divest its US operations. ByteDance negotiated an arrangement with Oracle and Walmart while courts suspended several restrictions.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The FTC reached a $5.7 million settlement with Musical.ly, which became TikTok, over alleged violations of the COPPA law: the app reportedly collected personal information from children under 13 without adequate parental consent.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Internal documents obtained by the press described TikTok moderation rules allowing the removal or reduced visibility of content relating to sensitive topics such as Tiananmen, Tibetan independence or Falun Gong. Other local guidelines also restricted certain LGBT content in conservative markets.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The Chinese regulator ordered the permanent closure of the comedy app Neihan Duanzi and imposed measures on Toutiao as part of a campaign against content deemed vulgar or socially harmful. Zhang Yiming published a lengthy apology acknowledging that he had prioritised growth and scale too heavily at the expense of quality and social responsibility.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

An advertisement linked to Douyin used the name of Qiu Shaoyun, a soldier honoured as a national hero in China, in a manner considered insulting. The incident prompted criticism from state media, and ByteDance apologised, announced internal sanctions and strengthened advertising controls.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Indonesia temporarily blocked TikTok, citing pornographic, indecent or blasphemous material accessible to young users. The block was lifted after the company agreed to increase moderation and remove the disputed content.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Zhang Yiming and Pony Ma publicly clashed online: Zhang accused Tencent of blocking Douyin links on WeChat and raised allegations of Weishi copying features; Pony Ma responded that these claims could amount to defamation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated