Forbes reports that the Chinese Communist Party-tied ByteDance does not just own other tech companies such as the U.S. App TikTok but is also expanding its influence into sectors like news, the media, and medicine.
According to Forbes, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP-tied ByteDance not only owns video apps like TikTok or its China-based counterpart Douyin but also has companies in multiple industries, such as video gaming and news.
ByteDance’s history of pro-CCP censorship and propaganda raises concerns, as Forbes indicated. Former ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming said that he wanted to use his platform to “promote socialist core values” and devotion to the CCP, according to The National Pulse.
For instance, ByteDance recently acquired Amcare Healthcare, which Forbes reported is one of China’s largest “private” hospital chains, for a reported $1.5 billion. ByteDance lists seven products on its website, including TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, but that does not accurately represent ByteDance’s reach, Forbes wrote.
“ByteDance is pushing into at least half a dozen other industries at a shocking scale, snapping up everything from video game startups to medical websites and payment processors, even dabbling at one point in education apps and real estate listing businesses,” Forbes wrote. Sensor Tower data analytics found that there were 70 ByteDance-affiliated apps.
Forbes stated that ByteDance purchased Indonesian news app Baca Berita or BaBe in 2018.
Forbes reports that ByteDance acquired Pico, a virtual reality headset manufacturer, and Moonton, a major Chinese game developer in 2021. Those are only a few of ByteDance’s companies and products. Forbes claims that even Manner Coffee cafe and Ning Ji, a Chinese brand of lemon tea, have ByteDance listed as key investors.
“Some experts say ByteDance’s ballooning beyond social media is concerning because of the Chinese government’s investments in ByteDance and Beijing’s sweeping laws requiring companies there to turn over information for national security and intelligence reasons,” Forbes noted.
The CCP has a board seat and financial stake in ByteDance, and the Chinese government is now demanding more increasingly detailed information and data from tech companies, raising concerns about ByteDance’s recent expansion.
ByteDance’s influence also extends to U.S. elections, as TikTok recently launched an Elections Center in partnership with a U.S. federal government program in the leadup to the 2022 midterm elections.
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