TikTok to stop operating in Hong Kong within days
Time to say your goodbyesTikTok was just beginning to making its mark on the Hong Kong market, but its presence is short-lived. The short form video app, owned by China-based ByteDance, has announced its exit from Hong Kong, which will come into effect within days.
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“In light of recent developments in the Hong Kong market, we have decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
The decision comes a week after China’s establishment of the new national security law in the city. For TikTok, Hong Kong is a small, unprofitable market, only attracting 150,000 users as of August 2019.
TikTok stressed that it has never received any requests from the Chinese government to access user data or to remove Hong Kong-related content. It also said it would not do so if asked.
This comes at a time as the US is considering banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok, announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday. The move was suggested by Pompeo in an interview with Fox News.
In the interview, the Secretary of State mentioned that people should only download the app “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party”.
TikTok has yet to answer whether Hong Kong users will still be able to access the app, or whether the news affects Macau as well.
