TikTok’s Controversial Hiring Practices: Relying on Chinese Talent Amid Mounting Scrutiny.
In the midst of heightened scrutiny over its ties to China, TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have continued to aggressively hire Chinese nationals for their US operations, raising eyebrows among US officials.
According to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), TikTok and ByteDance hired a staggering 669 Chinese nationals through H-1B visa applications between October 2022 and September 2023.
This marked a 50 percent increase from the previous year and accounted for the majority of the 1,089 H-1B visa approvals granted to the companies during this period.
The use of the H-1B visa program, which allows companies to recruit foreign workers with specialized skills, has been a subject of controversy.
US Senator Tom Cotton has been among the most vocal critics, questioning whether these hires undermine TikTok’s assurances about US-based teams managing American user data. The senator has expressed concerns over foreign nationals working at TikTok’s offices in the US.
The company’s hiring practices come as TikTok faces increasing pressure to sever its ties with ByteDance or risk being banned from US app stores.
While TikTok argues that its data is managed by a US-based team independent from Chinese oversight and that no information is shared with the Chinese government, concerns persist.
Despite TikTok’s efforts to distance itself from its Chinese origins, ByteDance’s influence remains evident. Previous reports have indicated that key product decisions for TikTok are often made by ByteDance staff in Beijing, and the company’s culture reflects its Chinese parent’s influence through shared values known as “ByteStyles.”
As the debate over TikTok’s future in the US continues, the platform’s reliance on Chinese talent and its parent company’s continued involvement in its operations are likely to remain central to the ongoing scrutiny and controversy surrounding the social media giant.
