TikTok's departure from Hong Kong appears to be a supportive of free speech, but in reality, the Chinese government will greatly benefit.

A spokeswoman for TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, announced on July 7 that it would remove the popular video app from Hong Kong.

On the surface, the move appears to send the message that TikTok disagrees with Beijing's surveillance and censorship requirements, while also clearly separating data stored inside and outside China.

However, Matt Perault, director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy at Duke University, said that the reality is not so simple.

Douyin has not made any announcements about compliance with the new security laws, but Perault said the app is unlikely to work in Hong Kong without complying with government requests for user data and auditing.

In addition, TikTok's withdrawal from Hong Kong increased the pressure of similar action on US companies.

However, Perault pointed out that ByteDance will win if US tech firms leave the city.

The expert said the only beneficiary even more than ByteDance if technology firms leave Hong Kong is the Chinese government.

In fact, this means increasing the ability to comply with censorship and surveillance requirements, which results in limited freedom of expression and privacy of Hong Kong people.

The Chinese government also benefits from TikTok's position to be strengthened as a "formidable" opponent of US companies on the international stage.

However, TikTok's ability to become a global competitor to US technology firms depends on the position of policy makers about the company's independence from Beijing.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened to ban TikTok, while many MPs have proposed legislation banning federal government employees from downloading the app.

Commentator Perault said that it is difficult to assess whether the concerns of politicians are reasonable or not.

TikTok's July 9 report also showed that they did not receive any requests from the Chinese government from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, the period of the protests.

However, experts note that TikTok and ByteDance are not completely separate.

Perault said TikTok's withdrawal from Hong Kong was a strong move amid US-China tensions escalating and technology companies of the two countries competing fiercely.

"This decision may not affect much about ByteDance's freedom or position in Hong Kong. However, it benefits China both economically and politically, and causes trouble for the