About the author
Einar Tangen
Senior Fellow of Taihe Institute
TikTok is a pawn in a game Washington plays that has no rules, just objectives.
Overview of Geopolitical Competition and Social Media Involving the US and China
The geopolitical competition between the United States and China has increased since 2012 over trade, technology, military power, and international influence.
The United States views China's rise as a challenge to American exceptionalism which requires US hegemony to bring about a monochromatic liberal, democratic, and capitalist global order. To this end, Washington has enacted political, economic, and military containment strategies. These strategies, unfortunately, have no endgame.
China has reacted by avoiding confrontations while maintaining its red lines and building a global trade community through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and BRICS. These organizations reflect China's approach to a multipolar world, which recognizes that such a world needs to find a Westphalian equilibrium that allows countries to be secure, a path to development, and respect for their sovereignty. The red lines relate to China's territorial integrity, involving Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan, Tibet, and the South China Sea.
In addition to physical and trade tensions, social media has become a significant battleground, with platforms like TikTok and WeChat being used as pawns in Washington's geopolitical chess game.
The US approach has been to cite national security concerns about Chinese-owned social media apps, referencing potential risks related to data privacy and influence operations, while offering no proof.
Interestingly, what the US claims Chinese companies might do is exactly what the US has done: harvesting private data, as former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed, and using social media to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. The latest example is the Pentagon's disinformation campaign against Chinese vaccines in the Philippines, as reported by Reuters in June 2024.
Washington's move to ban or force a sale of TikTok is apparently motivated by its success. About 170 million Americans use it, and Washington is raising the specter of how their information "could" be harvested, or their opinions could be "steered." The issue, though, is that it is successful and Chinese, so it is a threat.
Yet, far from being an agent of change, TikTok's interest in algorithms is to keep people's attention so they can sell advertising spots. People singing, telling jokes, and dancing are examples of the mostly humorous fodder offered up daily. Yet, because it allows people the freedom to express their opinions about news and current events, it is seen by Washington as a threat, even though it captures far less information than its US rivals Facebook, X, and others.
The Pew Research Center has provided factual statistics on how Americans navigate politics on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, showing that while many young people read views about events, the primary sources are from other young people, not malign actors.1
This is perhaps what lies at the crux of the issue with TikTok: the difference in how Washington and Beijing perceive the role of social media platforms.
From the US perspective, social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram shape political views. They are primary sources of news and information for many, especially for the younger generations. They offer a space for political engagement, activism, and discourse, allowing users to share their views, mobilize support for causes, and participate in political movements.
However, the influence of these platforms is seen as a double-edged sword. While they democratize information and give voice to marginalized groups, they also contribute to the spread of misinformation and the creation of echo chambers. Algorithms that prioritize engagement often amplify sensationalist and polarizing content, which can distort public perception and deepen political divides. "Stop the Steal," a debunked conspiracy theory that Trump won the 2020 election, created a vast network of followers, but more so on Twitter and Facebook than on TikTok.
The US government fears that data collected by TikTok could be accessed by the Chinese government, and then be used to create national security risks. This reflects fears that Beijing would try to weaponize narratives, as the US government has done domestically and internationally.
Domestically, the greatest danger to America is political disinformation like Trump's claim to have won the 2020 election, and factual disinformation against things like vaccines, not silly dance routines or songs. Domestic terrorism continues to rise, primarily motivated by partisan politics. According to the vast majority of recent studies by right, center, and left wing think tanks and study groups, the main domestic threats are motivated by polarized politics,2 not pictures of cats in pajamas.
Internationally, the US is the dominant force in intelligence and disinformation. The US directly, and through intermediaries, attacks China on a daily basis. There are accusations that China supports the war in Ukraine, and that China is antisemitic because it believes the killing of civilians, particularly children, in Gaza must stop (ironically, while the US sends bombs and funding to both).
The lengths to which Washington will go to vilify China were exposed by the Pentagon's Philippines COVID-19 vaccine disinformation campaign that cost thousands of lives of a close ally.
Disinformation citing "possible" security threats has been used to justify attacks against and to blacklist Chinese companies like Huawei, ZTE, and over a thousand more technology companies, and to rationalize technology bans and the blacklisting of thousands of Chinese individuals.
The parting gift of the Biden administration, after pushing for sweeping artificial intelligence (AI) chip export restrictions, was to add 14 Chinese companies to its restricted trade list.
How Is This Funded?
The total US budget for spying and disinformation is not publicly disclosed in detail, but it includes both the National Intelligence Program (NIP) and the Military Intelligence Program (MIP). Added together, it's about 135 billion USD per year.
Why Is This Happening?
From the Chinese perspective, social media platforms are powerful tools for public diplomacy and two-way domestic communication. Platforms like Weibo and Baidu allow the government to engage with the public, monitor public opinion, and swiftly respond to emerging issues.
This is the main reason why there is such a disconnect when people visit China: the dissonance of media narratives based on Washington sponsored false information flows.
In contrast, while it is impossible to tell the exact percentage of China's defense budget spent on intelligence and counterintelligence, China's entire defense budget for 2023 was just under 225 billion USD.
TikTok has lost its US Supreme Court appeal,3 but the underlying problem, which is Washington's assumption that everyone will do what it has done, remains unaddressed.
The problem with distrust is that, like a virus, it spreads and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Ironically, this is a Pyrrhic victory for Washington, as the recent number of Americans opening up new accounts in Xiaohongshu attests.
As of January 15, the hashtag "TikTok refugee" on Xiaohongshu has garnered nearly 250 million views and over 5.5 million comments.4
You may note that what is supposed to be a major "national security" issue, based on Washington's assumptions without evidence about "what it would do" if they controlled TikTok, has turned into a grubby grab for gold, as major funds and billionaires that invested in ByteDance seek value and calculating buyers line up for what is being touted as a 50 billion USD deal.
In the end, TikTok is just one pawn in a cynical smokescreen for Washington's passive aggressive insecurities. This is a continuing theme, as America descends the rabbit hole of internal division and international indifference. As Beijing looks for clarity and cooperation with Washington, until the Beltway mindset changes, relations will be difficult at best. Until then, Washington is doomed to play a losing game of "whack-a-mole," banning one social media platform after another, only to see more pop up.
Swaggering unpredictability is a strategic tactic to gauge reactions, look for weaknesses, and pursue opportunities. But, when the use of power is untethered from values, the result could be chaos on a global scale.
1. Colleen McClain, Monica Anderson, and Risa Gelles-Watnick, "How Americans Navigate Politics on TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram," Pew Research Center, June 12, 2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/06/12/how-americans-navigate-politics-on-tiktok-x-facebook-and-instagram/.
2. Riley McCabe, "The Rising Threat of Anti-Government Domestic Terrorism: What the Data Tells Us," CSIS, October 21, 2024, https://www.csis.org/analysis/rising-threat-anti-government-domestic-terrorism-what-data-tells-us; "What Is the Current State of Domestic Terrorism in the United States?," The Soufan Center, January 6, 2025, https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-2025-january-6/.
3. For those looking for a TikTok timeline, this Forbes article is worth reading: Antonio Pequeño IV and Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, "TikTok Ban Live Updates: App Shuts Down in US - But Trump Could Restore It," Forbes, January 19, 2025, https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/01/18/tiktok-ban-live-updates-app-shuts-down-in-us-but-trump-could-restore-it/.
4. Eric Cheung, Joyce Jiang, and Hassan Tayir, "The Great Social Media Migration: Sudden Influx of US Users to RedNote Connects Chinese and Americans Like Never Before," CNN, January 15, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/14/tech/rednote-china-popularity-us-tiktok-ban-intl-hnk/index.html.
This article is from the January issue of TI Observer (TIO), which delves into the concept of "technological sovereignty," examining the political dynamics behind the TikTok sale-or-ban law, and exploring the delicate balance between national security, enterprise freedom, and global technological cooperation. If you are interested in knowing more about the January issue, please click here:
http://en.taiheinstitute.org/UpLoadFile/files/2025/1/26/1041397474f018444-a.pdf
——————————————
ON TIMES WE FOCUS.
Should you have any questions, please contact us at public@taiheglobal.org
© 2013-2021 Taihe Institute (TI) . All rights reserved. Taihe Institute (TI) .京ICP备16023694号-1
Privacy Policy丨Terms of Service
Contact Us: public@taiheglobal.org
