The Other Chinese Apps Taking the US and UK by Storm

This same concern has led the European Commission, the UK and Canada to ban TikTok from the phones of government employees.

"How the US and other democratic countries address the challenge of Chinese apps like TikTok breaking outside of China has really profound consequences for free speech and the freedom of information globally," said Paul Scharre, author of the book Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

US-based tech firms like Apple have fought lengthy court battles to block government requests for their user's data, but Mr Scharre said no such channels exist in China.

"At the end of the day, if the Chinese Communist Party tells [a Chinese-owned company], they have to do something, they don't have an option", he said.

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