TikTok

For those who don't know, TikTok is a social media platform that offers short videos.  It is like YouTube for people with short attention spans.  Currently, the US Congress is discussing what to do about TikTok.  Why?  TikTok is a Chinese company and therefore, like all Chinese companies, it is a pawn of the Chinese Communist Party.  As such, there are several concerns regarding TikTok in the United States.

First, user data is at risk.  The Chinese could easily acquire all the data that TikTok collects on those who have downloaded the app.  The story of data breaches at various companies is an old one, but in the case of TikTok it isn't so much a breach as a free exchange to the Chinese government.  How risky is this?  Is some arm of the Chinese government going to open a credit card in the name of some Zoomer?  Unlikely.

Second, the app could be used to spy.  There has long been an issue with apps that virtually take over the phone and thus allow others to listen in or even watch via the microphone and camera.  There is also location data, various other apps, and so forth.  As this is an app produced by a rival global power, it might be best to limit its use in the United States.

Lastly and most importantly, it is foreign propaganda.  Through algorithms, TikTok can emphasize certain messages and suppress others.  For example, criticism of Xi Jinping or the Uyghur genocide has been censored.  Here is a social media platform that is tremendously popular among youth, who are also the easiest to brainwash.  That is probably not a coincidence.

Many countries have already banned TikTok to some degree.  The Anglosphere (England, US, Canada, New Zealand) has banned it from government devices, which addresses point two, at least as far as national security is concerned.  Also of note, TikTok is unavailable in China!  They have a walled garden version called Douyin.  Therefore, China has very strong control over what is available to Chinese citizens and can present completely different content to the foreign audience.

There is no easy or obvious solution to TikTok.  The US First Amendment is anti-censorship (though that view is fading fast).  Here is another case where a foreign adversary is using our values against us.  On the other hand, recent studies (take with a fistful of salt) indicate that social media is a mental health risk, especially for young people.  There is talk of treating social media like cigarettes or alcohol.  Maybe we need a rating system, like we have for movies.  As with most congressional hearings, I expect it to result in nothing at all.