The United States has banned TikTok, calling it a national security threat due to alleged ties between its parent company, ByteDance, and the Chinese government—a claim ByteDance denies.
Analysts now believe other countries could follow the US, just as they did with previous bans on Chinese and Russian tech companies like Huawei and Kaspersky.
The ban has left TikTok offline in America, but experts warn this might only be the beginning.
“We’ve seen this pattern before,” said Emily Taylor, Editor of the Cyber Policy Journal.
“Once the US bans a company and pressures its allies, it often leads to similar actions worldwide, even without solid evidence.”
The US has done this in the past. In 2017, it banned Kaspersky antivirus software from government systems, claiming it could be used by Russia for hacking—though no proof was ever provided.
Soon after, countries like the UK followed, and Kaspersky eventually closed its offices in those regions.
A similar story unfolded with Huawei.
The US accused the Chinese tech giant of being a security risk due to its 5G technology.
While no evidence of spying was made public, the US pushed its allies to block Huawei, leading to widespread bans.
Experts say TikTok could face the same fate if the US ban stays.
“Allies might claim they’re making independent decisions, but US lobbying often plays a big role,” said a former Huawei UK staff member.
Though incoming President Trump has shown interest in reversing the ban, TikTok’s future remains uncertain.
Will it survive, or will it become the next global casualty of US-led security crackdowns?
