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To be or not to be, that is the question of the future of the social media giant TikTok in the United States.
The fate of the Chinese Communist Party-controlled operating system is one of the very few issues that seem to divide Americans on both sides of our most fundamental divide, namely, pro-Donald Trump and anti-Donald Trump.
This is a great sign that there are legitimate competing interests in using the app and allowing it to flourish in the US Those in favor of the short video platform see themselves as champions of free speech; those who are opposed as guardians of national security. Both may have a point.
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In order for a decision about TikTok to be reached thoughtfully and honestly, it must be fully understood and acknowledged how much damage China’s censorship and propaganda has done.
The fact that Chinese owner ByteDance refuses to sell TikTok is a form of confirmation that it was CCP’s work all along. It wasn’t presented by a Chinese businessman who wants to make money, or he’ll jump on a $50 billion offer – especially if it’s already dark in the United States.
President-elect Trump was photographed in front of the TikTok logo. (Getty Images)
No, the real value of TikTok for the CCP was always an information attack on the US aimed at stealing our private data, including that of millions of our children, and promoting anti-American views. Remember the “Osama Bin Laden wasn’t that bad” TikTok craze?
Information is a vital national security business. According to the Department of Defense, the American levers of international power are defined by the DIME paradigm as Diplomatic, Informational, Military, and Economic.
In all three of these, the US is the best. But, because of our First Amendment and the liberal nature of our society, we are always at a disadvantage against our authoritarian foreign adversaries when it comes to using information as a weapon.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee at the Rayburn House office building on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
This is not a social media two-way street with China. As Elon Musk, the owner of the competing platform X commented this week, “The current situation where TikTok is allowed to work in America, but X is not allowed to work in China is not equal. Something needs to change.”
No one should be holding their breath waiting for China to release its internal communications audit, but Musk’s point is well taken. This is an unbalanced information war.
All this is why the ban on TikTok, if Bytedance continues to refuse to collapse, was passed by a large bipartisan majority and why Trump was on board at the time. Now, with TikTok choosing to go dark on Sunday in the US, the rubber has met the road.
Of course, there are plenty of Americans who use TikTok in not-entirely-bad ways to run their business, pursue a hobby, or simply have fun, and it’s understandable that they don’t want it to disappear.
For his part, Trump believes that TikTok played a major role in securing his victory in the election. There isn’t much hard evidence to back this up, but there are those in Trump’s inner circle, like Kellyanne Conway, who have petitioned Congress for TikTok.
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If Trump can make a deal that saves TikTok in America by removing the national security threat it poses, great. That would be a double win. But while these competing interests are both legitimate, they are not equal, and the defense of our country must come first.
For his part, Trump seems to understand this, posting on Truth Social on Sunday that he wants “the United States to have a 50% ownership position in the joint venture. By doing this, we are saving TikTok, keeping it in good hands and allowing it to remain ready without the consent of -US, no TikTok.”
Make a deal or not, whether TikTok survives or not, you should tip your cap to Communist China for one of the most effective intelligence operations ever conducted against the United States. Endless bytes of stolen data, millions of hours of propaganda pouring into the eyes and ears of our children.
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It took our government years to understand what TikTok really was, a long time to act, and now, even after it has taken a decisive step, we cannot pull the plug on the listening device. And one possible solution is to give China more than $50 billion for its problem.
Trump wants 90 days to make a deal, and no one is doing better. But after that, CCP is out of the business of TikTok or TikTok must leave the US There is no third option.
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