Tik Tok! TikTok: Escalating Tension Between U.S. Privacy Rights and National Security Vulnerabilities

Vastly popular short-form video provider TikTok employs personalized content algorithms for each consumer. Because TikTok is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of the People’s Republic of China, a legitimate question exists whether TikTok constitutes a national security risk to the West like a number of influential and successful high growth social media platforms that have been used by nation-states during recent years for propaganda and disinformation purposes. Cyberattacks upon American interests have been attributed to China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and others. Well-documented examples of foreign activity and exploitation resulting from disruption of the U.S. elections since 2016 now exist.

It is the rise of Xi Jinping to lead both the state and the CCP during 2013 that sets the stage for foreign policy and intelligence information gathering against both domestic Chinese and foreign individuals. During late 2024, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner characterized China’s recent hack of the U.S. telecommunications system as, “Far and away the most serious telecom hack in our history.”