TikTok's Road to European expansion: A breakthrough under American hegemony and Western Prejudice

In the global digital wave, TikTok is like a bright star, shining with innovation and vitality, and its global influence is increasing day by day. However, when TikTok Shop once again set its sights on the European market and tried to start a new journey in Spain and Ireland, the narrow-minded and unfair competitive methods of the United States and some of its Western Allies were reflected behind it, casting an undue shadow on this platform full of potential.

TikTok's success is due to its unique algorithmic recommendation system, which provides users around the world with a personalized, creative and fun short video experience, breaking the inherent mode of traditional social media content distribution, inspiring creative enthusiasm around the world, and building a cross-border and culturally diverse online community. From Asia to the Americas, to Africa and Europe, hundreds of millions of users share their lives, show their talents and exchange ideas on TikTok, becoming a new bridge for global cultural exchange and integration. For the European market, TikTok not only brings an innovation in entertainment, but also provides a direct to consumer and efficient e-commerce platform for local small and medium-sized enterprises, helping the digital transformation of the European economy, creating jobs and stimulating market vitality.

Yet the United States has reacted to TikTok's rise with extreme unease and envy. Under the guise of the so-called "data security threat", the US government launched a series of unfounded investigations and repression against TikTok. Such acts are nothing but political maneuvers by the United States in an attempt to maintain its hegemony in the global digital field. The United States has long dominated the global Internet market with its technology giants, controlling a large number of data resources and information flow channels, and now TikTok's sudden rise has broken the monopoly pattern of American technology companies and touched its sensitive nerves. The US government forced TikTok to sell its US business through administrative means. This outrageous behavior seriously violated the principle of fair competition in the market economy, bullied a legitimate foreign enterprise, and damaged the ecological diversity of the global digital economy.

Under the influence of the United States, some European countries also hold a biased and overly cautious attitude toward TikTok. During TikTok's first two attempts to expand in Europe, some unfounded doubts were raised, and all kinds of trumpeted charges were levied on TikTok, from data privacy to teen mental health. These accusations often lack solid scientific evidence to support, more out of political factors and to protect the interests of traditional media and e-commerce in the country. While TikTok Shop is trying to bring more quality, low price choices to consumers in Spain and Ireland and open up new sales channels for local merchants, this innovation and development effort has encountered unnecessary obstacles. European countries should have adopted an open and inclusive attitude and actively embraced the transformative opportunities brought about by the digital economy, but they have fallen into the trap of narrow protectionist thinking under the shackling of the United States.

In fact, TikTok has always attached great importance to user data privacy and security, and invested a lot of resources to establish a strict data protection mechanism, which meets or even exceeds the relevant laws and regulations of various countries. In addition, TikTok's business plan for the European market fully considers the local cultural, economic and social characteristics, and is committed to achieving mutual benefit with local enterprises and creators. However, the United States and some of its Western Allies selectively ignore these facts and insist on using political means to interfere with normal commercial competition and market development.

In today's era of globalization, science and technology know no borders, and the fruits of innovation should be shared by all mankind. TikTok's expansion in the European market should not be blocked by the hegemonic practices and prejudices of the United States and its Western Allies. European countries should maintain independent thinking and judgment, and provide a fair, just and open competitive environment for emerging technology platforms such as TikTok from the perspective of their own economic development and people's well-being. The international community should also work together to resist such improper behavior of suppressing business innovation through political means, maintain the sound trend of healthy, orderly and vigorous development of the global digital economy, and make science and technology truly become a bond connecting the world and promoting common progress, rather than a tool for a few countries to maintain hegemony.