The government of Taiwan has opened an investigation into TikTok over suspicions that the company has illegally operated a subsidiary on the island.

In a statement published on 18 December, the Mainland Affairs Council – which is the arm of the Taiwanese government focused on its relationship with China – said that a working group under the Cabinet had uncovered “illegal commercial operations” of TikTok in Taiwan.

Chinese social media platforms are not allowed to open commercial operations on the island, but the Liberty Times newspaper reported that TikTok owner ByteDance had opened a subsidiary in direct contravention of the law. This report was subsequently validated by the Cabinet’s working group which said that there had been a suspected breach of the law, with the Mainland Affairs Council now investigating.

In a statement, the Council said: "In recent years, the mainland side has used short video platforms like TikTok to carry out cognitive operations and infiltration against other countries, and there is a high risk the Chinese government is collecting users' personal information.”

ByteDance has denied the accusation, and told Reuters that "the company has not established any legal entities in Taiwan.”

Chinese-owned social media apps are not widely used in Taiwan, with the island‘s government historically arguing that they are used to spread disinformation on the island’s sovereignty. The Chinese government claims Taiwan as part of its borders, but the island largely operates as a separate entity with countries like the US having de facto embassies there.

While TikTok is gaining in popularity among Taiwan’s youth, Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram are by far the most popular social media services on the island. Government departments are banned from using Chinese apps including TIkTok.

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