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TikTok Track Update
Written by Laurence F. Sanford, Senior Research Analysts, American Security Council Foundation
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has been tracking and surveilling American journalists using TikTok data. The FBI and the Department of Justice are now investigating.
ByteDance is headquartered in Beijing, China, and is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). All Chinese individuals and organizations are subject to a 2017 law that requires them to turn over information to the CCP upon request. Spokesperson Jennifer Banks said the individuals involved in the tracking are no longer employed, and ByteDance will cooperate with any official investigation.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before Congress this week and will argue TikTok data is secure and that data is not sent to China. (So, how did ByteDance in China get TikTok data?) Reportedly 150 million Americans now follow TikTok. This means 150 million Americans have given the CCP access to all of their personal data. TikTok uses this access to influence U.S. elections and public policy, distort news, and indoctrinate America’s youth.
The CCP is at war with America. We should respond by banning TikTok and other Chinese-owned social platforms such as WeChat. China does not allow American-owned social media and news organizations to operate in China. Why should we allow CCP social media to operate in America?
Rule number one in dealing with the CCP and its representatives is to “never trust a communist.” One needs to look no further than Hong Kong, Tibet, Uyghurs, Tiananmen Square, organ harvesting, and religious persecution for examples of CCP duplicity. So when CEO Shou says something, assume he is distorting the truth or flat-out lying.
Banning TikTok will be condemned by free speech advocates and others. But it is time for America to realize we are in a new cold war with China and that we must begin to de-couple from China. FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned TikTok is a national security risk. Senator Josh Hawley wrote that TikTok is a “Trojan Horse” for the CCP. Democrat Senator Mark Warner said President Trump was “right” in trying to ban TikTok. President Joe Biden reversed Trump’s efforts.
Peace Through Strength!