But ask an average member of the U.S. House of Representatives, though none is really average, and one is likely to get an entirely different view.
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) said that “well over 20 percent” of the information on TikTok is, in fact, misinformation.
TikTok is the most popular social media in the United States, and not just for messaging and videos. It’s growing into a global “super-app,” which users will be able to use for e-commerce, peer-to-peer networking, gaming, finance, and anything else developers dream up that users can be convinced that they need.
TikTok’s powerful algorithm extracts personal data from what users reveal, including what they watch and anything the app’s AI algorithm can glean, such as from third-party websites.
The main objection to TikTok is that it could be used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against democracy. Given Beijing’s demonstrated opposition to the United States and all we stand for, allowing its influence to grow through TikTok is arguably an existential threat to U.S. national security.
The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew of Singapore, demonstrated his lack of American values on March 23 by answering evasively throughout questioning from representatives when asked, for example, whether he supports the U.S. First Amendment or opposes genocide.
The representatives, some of whom have access to classified reports, depicted TikTok as spreading addictive misinformation that can lead to eating disorders, drug overdose, and suicide. The app allegedly allows the CCP to spy on users, including through GPS, keystroke, facial, and website data.
“My question is, why the hysteria and the panic and the targeting of TikTok?” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) asked the group. “As we know, Republicans, in particular, have been sounding the alarm creating a red scare around China.”
But the low-key protest, replete with matching placards, is direct evidence of the ability of a foreign power to use TikTok to parry Americans who are finally waking up to the threat.
On March 23, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the House Committee for Energy and Commerce, which held the hearing, called for the ban straightaway.
China’s Commerce Ministry responded that it “firmly opposes” a forced sale, which puzzled lawmakers.
Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) noted that the more emerging legislation tied the hands of TikTok, the lower its sale value. “Why not take the money and run, like any other company would do?” she asked.
The most likely answer, not given by Chew of course, is that Beijing seeks to use TikTok not for profit, primarily, but for influencing U.S. and global public opinion.
Beijing already bans the app in China but can control it in the United States through TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, headquartered in Beijing.
Beijing also bans Google and Facebook in China. Still, it allows Bytedance to operate a social media company called Douyin that serves Chinese youth educational material, in contrast to the junky entertainment it serves up in the United States.
The testimony of Chew on March 23 included more than five hours of brutal questioning by representatives from both parties on the committee, which clearly didn’t trust Chew. Neither did Chew inspire much trust with his repeatedly evasive and disingenuous answers.
However, his facade did show some cracks.
To a question posed by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Chew admitted that Bytedance employees in China could access U.S. user data.
TikTok’s privacy policy states that it may share user data with its corporate group, and Chew admitted under questioning that Bytedance is part of TikTok’s corporate group.
So our children’s data have been flowing to Beijing for years. If a forced sale or ban doesn’t fix this invasion of U.S. privacy, perhaps a stronger approach is needed.
Offensive cyber operations by the National Security Agency, anyone?
