TikTok TikTok

The proposed ban

I don’t know how you feel about TikTok; I have never used it though I have an incredibly talented and ambitious niece who credit it for launching a business from home as she raises her kids. Good on her. I know many people are so concerned about it, however.

I seriously doubt, however, that those U.S. legislators supporting the ban will find things end positively. The success of this particular platform, based on comments I have heard over the past several years, results from more than 100 million—about 30% of the country—Americans under the age of 35 who adore the content TikTok brings. These voters have the power of the ballot to punish their representatives if the ban forced changes to their beloved app. It’s tough for those of us over an age to recognise this generation truly has no memory of a time when they could not count on ever changing app options to feed their need for constant entertainment.

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced he is orchestrating the efforts to identify buyers to relieve ByteDance of its ownership of TikTok. Wonderful idea but I suspect it has about a 2% chance of succeeding. ByteDance certainly is susceptible to CCP pressure over the content and, more importantly, the algorithms associated with TikTok; I see no evidence ByteDance seeks to sell the platform. I admit I don’t read the financial pages from cover to cover but if Tiktok’s critics are correct about Beijing’s malevolent intentions, why would we assume that the Chinese company will sell it once an American ban goes into effect? This strikes me as fanciful.

According to the company’s critics, the key aspect is the unique but powerful algorithms shaping dissemination of curated information to consumers. That is perfectly plausible as a rationale for the platform and for fearing its power. But what critics don’t seem to consider is that Beijing worries infinitely more about its own youth and the spreading of information than it does about those in this country or anywhere else around the world.

Sure, the CCP government does not allow Tiktok’s use at home (we hear this sort of Chinese ban frequently on social media there) so ByteDance operates a parallel Chinese company, Douyin. That platform actually pre-dates TikTok’s creation. Similarly aimed at youth, Douyin’s daily consumer base is roughly six times that of Tiktok. According to an article on CNN, the average Chinese user of Douyin spends 70 minutes daily on this applicationas of last March. This is a big deal in China much as Tiktok is here.

Unfortunately for those seeking to end Chinese influence, there is a catch in the logic for telling TikTok to sell. The offending algorithms are the same for both of ByteDance’s companies, unsurprisingly.

What is the chance that even if ByteDance were willing to give up the U.S. application, it would be willing to sacrifice algorithms used to influence the 600 million daily users of Douyin? Would the CCP surrender algorithms widely used in China on a livestreaming and sales system? It doesn’t seem a logical business decision nor does it seem, particularly if the CCP uses that livestreaming to shape the thoughts of their own population, this would proceed.

In other words, ByteDance’s enterprise is much more valuable to Beijing for internal purposes than what they are getting here. If this is actually a binary choice, then the sale to an American consortium or company (you know, Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos might have spare change sitting around for something like this) is not even a possibility.

We are approaching this purely from a U.S. perspective; logical but not the full story. A further problem with the logic exists in our own argument. If the algorithms are as powerful as they appear, how would Beijing react to the United States controlling them? Yes, I know we like to see ourselves as pure in our motives but Xi, in his ever growing paranoia, has been arguing for the past half decade that western culture and ideas (read American soft power) aim to destroy China and the CCP which has led its people to the stage of development where they are.

The entire ‘Made in China’ emphasis Xi stresses to advance technology is not merely patriotic fervour: it’s trying to curtail powerful technologies born in the the west that can curb China’s sovereignty as he sees it. It makes no difference whether that is actually our intent; paranoia is one’s distorted interpretation of events and trends. The idea that this wildly successful Chinese enterprise could become a tool of the Americans to stifle CCP control is simply too much for the current leadership to endorse willingly.

The CCP long understood westerners sought to oust it over the seventy-five years since the PRC’s founding as ‘modern China’. Whether it was supporting the Republic of China, limiting arms sales following the 1989 Tian’anmen massacre, or curbs on various academic exchanges over the past decade, the CCP fears all U.S. government efforts at their heart focus on overthrowing Communist governance, thus weakening China. Allowing a U.S. company, regardless who runs it, to control this powerful tool is not in the realm of possibility.

The Senate May vote down the ban. If it passes, the TikTok generation May rebel against their government through voting out the ban’s many supporters. Time will tell.

How do you feel about the ban? Is it attacking a serious national security threat or infringing on free speech? Why stop with TikTok when China’s programmers control many social media apps our citizens use? Are we able to construct some better solution on this threat? I welcome hearing your views as they matter.

I got a phenomenal, detailed response to yesterday’s column on Haiti which I appreciated a great deal; a War College graduate raised crucial questions as a citizen and retired law enforcement official within the Air Force. Please feel free to send me your thoughts on these topics as I learn so much, clearly not having nearly enough answers myself.

I am thinking about recording these columns for paid subscribers: would you find it of value to you? What about reviving our online sessions on current topics that went into abeyance last September? Would you be interested in a discussion forum once a fortnight or with some periodicity? I am interested in your views, whether you are a paid subscriber or not.

It was #FlowersonFriday in Eastport. I am trying not to overwhelm you but spring is here next week.

Have a satisfying weekend. Be well and be safe. FIN

David Sanger, ‘TikTok’s Security Threats Go Beyond the Scope of House Legislation’, NYTimes.com, 13 March 2024, retrieved at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/us/politics/tiktok-ban-house-bill.html

Jessie Yeung and Selina Wang, ‘TikTok is owned by a Chinese company. So why isn’t it allowed there?’, cnn.com, 24 March 2023, retrieved at https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/tech/tiktok-douyin-bytedance-china-intl-hnk/index.html