CNBC reported that despite advisories about potential threats to homeland security posed by Chinese-made apps (such as ByteDance’s successful video-sharing app TikTok), many of the most downloaded apps in the United States are from China.
They Are Everywhere
The ByteDance-owned applications CapCut and Lemon8, as well as the Chinese shopping app Temu, were the two most installed free apps overall in the Apple App Store, as of the end of May.
Chinese apps remain hugely popular in the U.S. despite efforts to ban TikTok https://t.co/SMkc7BqElE
— CNBC (@CNBC) May 29, 2023
Temu, a subsidiary of PDD Holdings in China, was the twelfth most downloaded free purchasing app in 2022, surpassing retailers Wayfair, Kohl’s, and Nordstrom, as reported by Insider.
From late March to early April, ByteDance’s CapCut got nearly one million installations.
CapCut, Temu, and Lemon8 also enjoy considerable usage in the United States, as per Apptopia, with a total of 99 million users for CapCut. There are approximately 67 million users for Temu and 1.2 million users for Lemon8.
Lindsay Gorman, an analyst from the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told CNBC that the US would be prudent to consider the dangers to its security posed by Chinese apps other than TikTok.
She suggested the United States develop a risk assessment framework.
In the past 30 days, the top 4 most downloaded free apps in the US are owned by Chinese companies.
Number of downloads:
1. Temu, 10 million
2. TikTok, 7.4 million
3. CapCut, 6.7 million
4. SHEIN, 6.3 million— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) March 27, 2023
Sensitive Information
Gorman compared it to US infrastructure.
In making this comparison, she said it is the same way that America would neither rely on an authoritarian system to build important components of US energy infrastructure, nor would the US allow it.
Forbes disclosed on Monday that several thousand content makers and companies who earn money on TikTok provided the social media company with private financial data to be paid. This includes bank accounts, tax ID numbers, and even Social Security numbers.
What these individuals might not know, however, is that their private financial data is stored on platforms in China. It can be also accessed by Chinese staff members at the company.
This article appeared in NewsHouse and has been published here with permission.
