Gordon G. Chang
TikTok has posed two national security threats.
First, TikTok and its owner ByteDance have repeatedly made promises about the security of personal data of Americans, but they have not honored pledges and have broken U.S. statutes. The company settled charges that it violated U.S. child privacy laws.
Second, the Chinese regime uses TikTok's curation or recommendation algorithm, which determines the distribution of videos, to propagate its narratives as well as spread hate, sow disinformation, glorify self-harm, and promote illicit drug use. TikTok videos turn Americans against Americans and America itself.
The arrangement.... does not adequately eliminate the algorithm problem. Chew stated in his memorandum that the joint venture will be responsible for "retraining the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data to ensure the content feed is free from outside manipulation."
NPR reporting suggests that China will continue to own and control the algorithm — often referred to as TikTok's "secret sauce" — and that the new joint venture will license it. The New York Times reported in September that China would still own the algorithm. Any Chinese involvement in the curation process, especially considering Beijing's past use of the algorithm, is unacceptable.
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