President Donald Trump is jumping through hoops to save Chinese-run TikTok at a time when cutting off China should be a priority.
TikTok must be sold from Chinese ownership by Saturday or face a ban in the United States. However, that deadline isn’t much of a threat, given that Trump has already extended it from the original January deadline and will almost certainly extend it again if necessary.
After that extension two months ago, Trump’s plan was joint ownership between China and the U.S., which would still allow China to control the app. Now, the plan is for China to control the algorithm and lease it to a U.S. company with a minority ownership stake. China would not be severed from the app, meaning it would still have access to Americans’ data and to the minds of our youth, upon whom the app pushes relentless propaganda. Such a plan still would not meet the requirements put forward by Congress.
The problem here is that China is never going to agree to cut itself off from access to TikTok. It isn’t even clear that China would agree to any of these “compromises” that still allow it to control the algorithm. China wants to have total control over the spyware and social engineering of the app, and this cannot possibly be squared with U.S. national security concerns. There is no “deal” that is going to be approved by China that is going to protect Americans’ data and cut off China’s negative influence over children and young adults.
TRUMP TEASES REDUCTION IN CHINESE TARIFFS AS PART OF TIKTOK DEAL
Trump has been suckered by TikTok’s pandering and the notion that he won young voters because he joined the app. He invited the CEO of TikTok to his inauguration and has fought to keep TikTok online because he is obsessed with social media and being praised. He thinks TikTok provides that for him despite it being a haven of left-wing lunacy, anti-social behavior, and Chinese propaganda.
TikTok is not worth saving, and it is especially not worth all the hoops Trump is jumping through to save it. Trump should let TikTok die in accordance with the law that Congress passed. He should instead focus on limiting Chinese influence over technology, the economy, and everything else the Chinese government is trying to involve itself in.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
