As Beijing already bans most U.S. social media platforms, the most obvious question to ask is why should Washington allow a Chinese-owned app to be available in the United States? The answer, according to most experts, is that it probably shouldn’t—but this is more than just a case of turnabout being fair play, or a tit-for-tat response.
TikTok could be seen as a valid national security threat, warned lawmakers this week. The issues go far deeper than just the user data that China could access.
“TikTok, owned by ByteDance, presents significant cybersecurity concerns for the United States, primarily due to the potential exploitation of its vast user base and the Chinese company’s access to user data. The scale of TikTok’s user engagement, combined with China’s track record of aggressive cyber activities, raises the specter of sophisticated cyber threats targeting American users, including surveillance, data breaches, and manipulation of online discourse,” warned Lisa Plaggemier, executive director of The National Cybersecurity Alliance.
Specific Rational
Experts have pointed to specific reasons for banning TikTok, which also apply to other foreign-owned apps.
“Emphatically, the United States should not allow any foreign-owned, created, or operated social media apps within the United States, especially TikTok,” explained Dr. Craig Douglas Albert, professor of political science & graduate director of the Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies program at Augusta University.
“The first is that TikTok is 100% owned by the Chinese Communist Party, which is the strategic adversary of the United States, and is deemed by most security scholars as the most likely threat for a great power war with the U.S. by 2050,” said Albert.
This could be seen as concerning for security reasons involving the remaining three reasons for banning TikTok—including that TikTok collects all user data possible from the app.
“This includes not just what users do within the app, but all other apps connected through the user’s phone,” Albert continued. “Thus, TikTok, and hence the CCP, has access to all personal information for all users. This includes keystrokes—which can help them determine passwords and other sensitive information users type-in—websites visited, location of user, contact’s information, everything possible from all apps.”
That can allow China to create a full user portfolio for all of its users.
“Essentially, they know everything about its users, from what your children look like, to what time they are dropped off at school, to what you like to eat, where you like to eat, clothes you buy, activities you enjoy, and, your emotional-psychological state of being,” Albert noted. “Now imagine the US gets into a conflict with China, and they have this data on 180 million Americans. The comparative advantage this would provide the CCP to use against American citizens is unmatchable.”
As it currently stands, the U.S. may have no counter-operation to prevent the CCP from using this information for identity theft to enact precision-targeted assaults. Additionally, that vast trove of data could be potentially sold and used for equally nefarious purposes.
The Spread Of Misinformation
What has further worried lawmakers is how TikTok—and really all social media platforms—could be utilized to spread misinformation and disinformation. In the case of TikTok, such campaigns could be directed from Beijing, and used to undermine our upcoming elections.
“TikTok, like all social media sites, is based upon algorithms that can target its users for propaganda, mis/dis and malinformation,” Albert continued. “They can intentionally and purposely push specific types of propaganda against any person, thus they can attempt to push a user to vote differently, or push extremist videos at users likely to have an emotional reaction and resort to violence as a result of neurocognitive hacking. The end game of propaganda is to change a user’s thought processes and/or decision-making without the user being aware that this has occurred. Thus, the CCP has a direct line into users’ minds.”
A ban on TikTok could potentially disrupt the dissemination of false or misleading information to its vast user base, potentially mitigating any harmful effects of viral misinformation campaigns.
“TikTok’s popularity among both adults and children amplifies the potential impact of these cyber threats, as sensitive personal information could be compromised, and disinformation campaigns could spread rapidly,” said Plaggemier. “The platform’s interactive nature and extensive reach make it an attractive target for malicious actors seeking to undermine national security or advance foreign interests.”
Social Engineering Campaign
Perhaps one of the least talked about concerns is how TikTok could be ripe for social engineering campaigns that could deliver malware to a user’s network.
“If a user clicks a link on one’s work email, generated from cyber-intelligence gathered from the CCP from a TikTok user, the CCP can then infiltrate the user’s workplace networks and spread from there,” suggested Albert. “Now think if this user is in the tech, healthcare, or military industries, the effects of this type of cyber-enabled influence operation could be catastrophic.”
All social media sites and apps have many of the same flaws and capabilities just mentioned.
“The question is whether TikTok is any more harmful than say Truth Social or X,” pondered technology industry analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. “Rather than cherry picking one service, lawmakers should be crafting a remedy that would apply to all services.”
Of course, it could be argued that Truth Social, Facebook and X—among others—are not owned by a great power adversary to the United States.
“For these many reasons, it is clear that TikTok should be banned in the U.S., and so too should any other foreign apps owned by strategic adversaries,” said Albert. “The dangers posed by these scenarios are the greatest threat to US security and democracy to date.”
