One thing that sort of bothers me about this discourse is that, for one, there is no real evidence that the Chinese government is using Tiktok as a weapon to cause dissent through US population. All of it is based on fears that, because it is China, they might do it.<p>On the other hand, companies like Facebook have and continue to do so all across the world! Not only that, but Facebook itself has been weaponised against americans! This is a problem, but to me, the reality is that companies with this kind of reach are in no way better off in the hands of privates.<p>I know this is an opinion piece but passages like "... we know that China has been amplifying Russian propaganda worldwide." without any links whatsoever to a source are extremely inflammatory and, honestly, quite ridiculous when Fox News itself has been spreading Russian propaganda to Americans as well!<p>I'm not trying to make a whataboutism argument here, TikTok is a problem, but it is not a problem because the chinese are behind it; it is a problem because its reach is massive just like any other big tech out there. I really dislike when journalists try to spin this issue as if it's a new-found issue because the chinese are behind it. I assure you, to the chinese, Facebook, Youtube and the rest are also seen as a threat. It is the nature of the game.<p>Also, personally, I've not encountered a single pro-russian video on tiktok (probably because the algorithm feeds me things I resonate with) but I have encountered a plethora of them on instagram and youtube. Maybe I should write an article for the NYT as well?<p>Tbh, this article is just pointing out something people have been talking for years. Tiktok is a threat because the chinese government could manipulate its algorithm to spread propaganda... I'll leave you with this final piece from the author:<p>"Imagine a world in which the United States has a contested presidential election, as it did in 2020 (to say nothing of 2000). If one candidate was friendlier to Chinese interests, might the Chinese Communist Party insist that ByteDance give a nudge to content favoring that candidate?"<p>Literally what happened in 2016 with an American company (no mention in the article whatsoever that this same scenario has already happened with an american owned, american controlled company).