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Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

TikTok Poisons America

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Written by Laurence F Sanford, Senior Analyst ASCF

Categories: ASCF Articles

Comments: 0

Photo credit ascf 4_2025

Culture

TikTok’s algorithms drive users down rabbit holes of anti-American propaganda and harmful self-behavior. Its algorithms highlight the most aberrant human behaviors so users, primarily young people, consider them normal. A Utah youth committed suicide after being relentlessly fed pro-suicide content on TikTok.

Students' use of mobile devices is poisoning the American education system. Attention spans are limited, learning is hampered, and human social interactions are absent.

As a grooming app for anti-American propaganda, TikTok spins positive views of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and negative views of American society. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is headquartered in Beijing. Chinese data security laws make businesses and organizations in China subservient to the Communist Party of China's (CCP) directives.

Douyin, a sister company to TikTok owned by ByteDance, operates in China, whereas TikTok is banned there. Douyin limits individual viewing time and promotes a menu of science, math, patriotic news, and physical fitness. It does not allow negative comments on Chinese society. No mention of the Tiananmen Square massacre or the subjugation of Tibetans or Uyghurs is permitted.

Politics

TikTok skewed elections to favor those politicians most favored by the CCP. Not only is TikTok interfering in elections in the US, but it is also doing so in Canada, where TikTok creators are impacting the upcoming elections.

President Biden and President Trump used TikTok in their re-election campaigns, despite knowing that Congress had passed legislation banning TikTok due to national security concerns. President Trump has extended the congressional deadline twice to give American negotiators more time to buy TikTok from ByteDance.

American investors interested in purchasing TikTok include Elon Musk, Oracle, and Microsoft.

American ownership is meaningless if the algorithms are not included. The CCP has stated that TikTok and its algorithms are not for sale. The algorithms are considered a top-secret national security asset by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Business

China has a burgeoning e-commerce business based on TikTok that may suffer from newly imposed tariffs and a potential ban on operating in the US. TikTok is spending millions of dollars on TV ads and lobbying in the run-up to the ban, extolling how it helps American businesses. TikTok makes millions of dollars from ads generated on the media site.

National Security

TikTok collects personal data on millions of Americans. Its executives claim the data has not been forwarded to China. It is Chinese national law that all companies are subject to CCP control. When TikTok representatives claim that the data collected is not sent to company headquarters in Beijing, trust your common sense and don't believe them.

Summary

Reciprocity should be the foundation for all US policy. The CCP does not allow American media to operate in China, so why should the US allow Chinese media to operate in America?

TikTok, like fentanyl, is poisoning America. All Chinese media apps should be prohibited from operating in the US. China is wielding TikTok as a modern-day Trojan Horse in its unrestricted warfare against the United States.

Subconscious messaging is more effective than overtly political propaganda. TikTok's ultimate goal is to manipulate American youth’s values of democracy and free enterprise. The CCP playbook is based on Sun Tzu’s 5th-century B.C. classic, “The Art of War.” Notable quotes include “all warfare is based on deception” and “the greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”

The “free speech” argument in favor of TikTok is specious. There is nothing “free” about CCP propaganda poisoning and influencing American culture.

American investors should not make a deal to purchase TikTok unless American control of the algorithms is included in the agreement. Algorithms control the narrative, and the CCP considers them a state secret.

Action

Ban TikTok and all apps controlled by foreign algorithms.

If American investors buy TikTok, the purchase must include the algorithms.

Schools should enforce existing classroom rules prohibiting phone use.

Peace Through Strength!

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