The US-China Mirror: TikTok, National Security, and Techno-Nationalism

This text is inspired by the discussions held at the event “Whatever Happened to TikTok” organised by the Law & Popular Culture Network at Maastricht University Faculty of Law in February 2025.

In this post, I discuss the recent ban and subsequent unbanning of TikTok in the United States (US), drawing parallels with China’s own digital restrictions to highlight a growing pattern of techno-nationalism. I argue that both governments claim a moral high ground to justify excluding certain platforms under the banner of national security, creating a mirror image of tactics on each side. I question whether these security concerns are genuine or serve primarily as a means of consolidating power and pursuing economic advantage. I conclude by calling for a different look at US–China techno-rivalries to determine how real these national security threats are—and what broader interests they might conceal.