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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
World
Clark Garret Alvarez

'No Stupid Dancing': Why Is TikTok Banned in China Even Though It's Chinese? Italy's Defence Minister Asks

TikTok Guido Crosetto China Douyin Italy ByteDance Environment
Italy’s defence minister questions why TikTok is unavailable in China while children use separate platform Douyin (Credit: Ministero della Difesa | Wikimedia Commons | CC 4.0)

Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, speaking at a maritime forum in La Spezia on 17 September 2026, has questioned why TikTok is unavailable in mainland China despite its links to Chinese-founded ByteDance, while claiming children there are exposed to a dramatically different social media environment from their Western counterparts.

Crosetto contrasted TikTok with Douyin, ByteDance's separate platform for mainland China, arguing that young Chinese users encounter messages promoting education, sport and responsibility rather than the entertainment he sees dominating Western feeds.

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