Taiwan investigators find TikTok threatens national security and harms children
Taiwan's Control Yuan investigation found that TikTok stores user data in China, collects information from approximately 380,000 elementary school children despite age restrictions, and uses its algorithm to promote Chinese government messaging and suppress criticism while pushing dangerous challenges linked to over 100 child deaths globally.
What happened
Taiwan's Control Yuan, responding to the U.S. Congress passing a 'sell or ban' law on TikTok in April 2024, launched an investigation led by audit commissioners Lin Wen-cheng, Lai Chen-chang, and Pu Chung-cheng into TikTok's impact on Taiwan.
The Control Yuan's investigation report, passed on August 12, 2025, found that TikTok stores user data on servers in China, collects personal information from children, and functions as a tool for Chinese Communist Party cognitive warfare against Taiwan.
Reported impact
An analysis of the TCS Taiwan Communications Survey Database 2023 data found that 46.1% of Taiwan children aged 9 to 12 use TikTok, suggesting approximately 380,000 elementary school students use the platform despite its self-regulatory requirement of age 13 or above.
The investigation linked TikTok's algorithm to over 100 child deaths globally from dangerous challenges promoted through the platform, with many more children suffering health damage, prompting parents in several countries to file lawsuits.
Index analysis
The Control Yuan report states that TikTok's algorithm continuously instills and amplifies users' favorable views of China while suppressing anti-CCP content, according to a Rutgers University research report titled 'The CCP's Digital Charm Offensive.'
The investigation found that TikTok became a platform for spreading false information about Taiwan, with the algorithm distributing controversial content through non-transparent mechanisms that render self-regulatory terms ineffective.
Governance controls
The Control Yuan criticized the Executive Yuan's fragmented regulations governing social media platforms and noted insufficient government capacity to assess risks from social platforms, push algorithms, protect minors' privacy, and coordinate with cross-border platforms.
The investigation found that TikTok's self-regulatory requirements were ineffective, with the platform failing to prevent children under 13 from creating accounts, and called on the government to address TikTok's unauthorized collection of children's personal data and its role as a Chinese cognitive warfare tool.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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