It’s the great TikTok panic – and it could accelerate the end of the internet as we know it

‘As TikTok’s popularity among young people only grows, the high politics of the current debate marginalises genuine concerns – about addiction, the impact on mental health and body image.’ Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, discovered during his five-hour grilling by US Congress what Huawei could have told him all along: being owned by a Chinese company is bad for business.

In fact, the panic over TikTok is a lot like like Huawei and 5G all over again. The security and privacy risks are plausible, but largely without evidence. What this is really about is trust, trade and geopolitics.