by Gordon G. Chang
Articles 7 and 14 of China's 2017 National Intelligence Law require an entity such as ByteDance to commit acts of espionage if so directed by authorities in China. Moreover, the statement ignores the Communist Party's demand that any entity in China, regardless of ownership, obey its dictates.
The law is clear: No third-party service provider, such as Google or Apple, may "distribute, maintain, or update" a "foreign adversary controlled application." The measure designates any app owned by ByteDance, such as TikTok, as such an app.
Radio Free Asia reported in August 2020 that a Chinese People's Liberation Army intelligence unit, working out of China's Houston consulate, used big data to identify Americans likely to participate in Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests, and then created and sent them "tailor-made" videos on how to organize riots. Related reporting reveals the videos were TikToks. Fomenting violence in another country is considered an act of war.
Moreover, in their Supreme Court brief, TikTok and ByteDance argue this: "No arm of the Chinese government has an ownership stake—directly or indirectly—in TikTok Inc. or ByteDance Ltd." .... the statement does not cover ownership by the Communist Party of China, which is separate from the Chinese government.
Articles 7 and 14 of China's 2017 National Intelligence Law require an entity such as ByteDance to commit acts of espionage if so directed by authorities in China. Moreover, the statement ignores the Communist Party's demand that any entity in China, regardless of ownership, obey its dictates.
Now, "TikTok refugees" are flocking to another Chinese app, "RedNote," known in China by the characters for "Little Red Book." RedNote, the most downloaded app in Apple's U.S. store, should be treated the same as TikTok.
The Washington Post on January 15 reported that President-elect Donald Trump is thinking of issuing an executive order suspending the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The law is often and incorrectly referred to as the "TikTok ban."
Trump has no power to suspend the law by executive order. In any event, a delay in enforcement, even in accordance with the law's provisions, would be a grave mistake.
TikTok, China's ByteDance Ltd. (TikTok's owner), and TikTok creators sought Supreme Court review of the decision in TikTok Inc. v. Garland, issued last month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, upholding the constitutionality of the measure.
The law is clear: No third-party service provider, such as Google or Apple, may "distribute, maintain, or update" a "foreign adversary controlled application." The measure designates any app owned by ByteDance, such as TikTok, as such an app.
The prohibition is set to take effect January 19. Unless ByteDance sells TikTok to a non-designated party by that date, American app stores cannot distribute that app and no American business may offer web-hosting services to it. The wildly popular Chinese video-sharing app is currently on an estimated 170 million phones in the U.S.
On January 10, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case. The Court, however, did not issue an opinion on January 15, when it handed down a batch of decisions. Observers had expected the TikTok ruling then.
TikTok users, in their challenge, argued that the law deprives them of a "vital communications forum." They have a point, but there are overriding national-security issues.
As an initial matter, the Chinese regime has used TikTok to steal information from American users. "TikTok collects massive amounts of data on Americans at the direction of a genocidal totalitarian regime run by the Chinese Communist Party," Kerry Gershaneck, author of Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China's Plan to 'Win Without Fighting,' told Gatestone. "TikTok's invasive data collection includes usernames, age, biometric identifiers like facial recognition, location, browsing behavior, and contact lists. It even tracks keystrokes."
Moreover, Beijing has sent the app off to battle. Beijing uses TikTok's curation algorithm, which determines the distribution of videos, to propagate its narratives. For instance, Radio Free Asia reported in August 2020 that a Chinese People's Liberation Army intelligence unit, working out of China's Houston consulate, used big data to identify Americans likely to participate in Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests, and then created and sent them "tailor-made" videos on how to organize riots. Related reporting reveals the videos were TikToks. Fomenting violence in another country is considered an act of war.
"Exposure to such relentless flows of propaganda, disinformation, and psychological and emotional manipulation," says Gershaneck, "is a proven means to subvert, divide, and demoralize any nation."
Brandon Weichert, senior fellow of the Center for the National Interest, in comments to this site, reminds everyone that TikTok is "digital fentanyl" and a "weapon of mass distraction." The American people, he points out, now have "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save a generation of American children from the horrors of this Chinese psychological warfare app."
TikTok creators also argued that the law, enacted in April, "violates the First Amendment because it suppresses the speech of American creators based primarily on an asserted government interest—policing the ideas Americans hear—that is anathema to our nation's history and tradition and irreconcilable with this court's precedents."
That assertion is absolutely not true. There is nothing in the law policing content. The law merely seeks to prevent conduct injurious to the United States.
Moreover, in their Supreme Court brief, TikTok and ByteDance argue this: "No arm of the Chinese government has an ownership stake—directly or indirectly—in TikTok Inc. or ByteDance Ltd."
For one thing, the statement does not cover ownership by the Communist Party of China, which is separate from the Chinese government.
Yet the issue is more about control than ownership. The Chinese regime—the central government and the Party—controls the app.
For instance, Articles 7 and 14 of China's 2017 National Intelligence Law require an entity such as ByteDance to commit acts of espionage if so directed by authorities in China. Moreover, the statement ignores the Communist Party's demand that any entity in China, regardless of ownership, obey its dictates.
Trump, who in 2020 used his emergency powers to ban TikTok, on December 27 filed a brief with the Supreme Court seeking an indefinite stay of the law.
Trump, in his brief, stated that he wanted time to pursue a "negotiated resolution." There is talk of a sale of TikTok to Kevin O'Leary, "Mr. Wonderful," or Elon Musk.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act gives the president the right to grant a one-time extension of not more than 90 days if there is "significant progress" toward a sale. It is unlikely, however, that Trump could in good faith make the required factual certifications to permit an extension.
In any event, the exercise of the 90-day provision would be a preemptive concession. Why should the U.S. take the pressure off China to sell the app? A reprieve, in effect, allows ByteDance to hold out for a higher price.
More important, any delay, whether by executive order or in accordance with the law itself, would not be in America's interest. Trump going to bat for TikTok proves to Xi Jinping that the United States has no will to defend itself from an app that poisons minds and steals data from more than half the American population.
There is now talk of ByteDance selling the app but keeping control of the curation algorithm. That should be unacceptable to Trump because China's manipulation of curation is one of the reasons that makes TikTok so injurious to America.
Now, "TikTok refugees" are flocking to another Chinese app, "RedNote," known in China by the characters for "Little Red Book." RedNote, the most downloaded app in Apple's U.S. store, should be treated the same as TikTok.
Both apps are daggers pointed at the heart of America.
- Follow Gordon G. Chang on X (formerly Twitter)
Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America and The Coming Collapse of China, a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.
Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21314/tiktok-trump-china
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