President Donald Trump played down that potential threat on Wednesday TikTok He raises the issue of US national security, and questions “why it’s so important for China to spy on young people, young kids watching crazy videos.”
The answer, according to many former aides, congressional allies, Supreme Court appointees and incoming members of his administration, is a resounding yes.
National security experts have long characterized the spying value of the Chinese-owned social media app strict termsChina’s government using it as a propaganda and user data mining mechanism – the company has vigorously denied it.
Trump’s apparent ambivalence toward TikTok stands in stark contrast to a host of leaders who agree with him on nearly every other issue.
Elise Stefani, Trump’s incoming ambassador to the United Nations, once blasted the app as “Chinese Communist malware that is poisoning the minds of our generation.” William Evanina, the former director of Trump’s National Counterterrorism Center, recently called it “one of the most successful influence and intelligence gathering operations ever.”
The president’s comments about TikTok “demonstrate that he still has a lack of understanding of Tik Tok’s intelligence-gathering capabilities and China’s ability to exploit data obtained by Tik Tok,” Charles Kupperman, Trump’s first administration security adviser, told ABC News. former national advisers.
Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum voted overwhelmingly last year ban the app If it could not be sold to another company in the US, citing the risk to US national security. TikTok has repeatedly and forcefully denied acting on behalf of Beijing, and sued the US after the law was passed.
A notification appears on the TikTok app while it returns online in the US on January 19, 2025.
ABC News
When that case came before the Supreme Court earlier this month, judges who usually sided with Trump denounced TikTok as a foreign-based surveillance tool.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, said concerns about foreign data collection on Americans are “very strong” and that there is a legitimate fear that the information could be used in the future “to turn spies or blackmail people.”
Trump’s views on the app have evolved in recent years. After declaring in his first term that he would work to remove the app, Trump made it his own in his 2024 White House bid, saying in December that he had a “warm spot” in his heart for the platform.
A former Trump aide, who asked not to be named, said Trump’s pivot to TikTok may reflect recent flattery about TikTok’s deal-making abilities.
When the application returned to service after a temporary blackout last weekend, a message to users hailed the potential savior of the Trump app. The next day, Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, attended Trump’s inauguration.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban on TikTok for 75 days.
