Why TikTok is a serious national security threat



President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump may have conducted their presidencies quite differently, but they shared the same skepticism of TikTok.

TikTok, the widely used social media platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has received mounting criticism in recent years from American public officials for its connections with the Communist Party of China.

President Trump signed an executive order to force TikTok to separate from ByteDance. The move was ultimately blocked by a U.S. federal judge in 2020. But this year, President Biden signed a “TikTok Ban Bill,” which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American company or face expulsion from U.S. app stores.

Mike Solana, founder of Pirate Wires and chief marketing officer at Founders Fund, joined James Poulos to share why he thinks TikTok poses a serious national security threat:

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Despite spending no more than 10 minutes on TikTok a day, Solana said he grew concerned with a potent, recurring feature on the app. No matter what, it served him an ad displaying an image of an impoverished Gaza. "It comes back relentlessly, the exact same ad, every single day. You're forced to look at it.” Who determines which images are selected to bombard American viewers? “I think that's something that our government should care about," Solana said.

Social media changes the way people think, he continued. “It shapes your sense of what is the perspective you're supposed to have,” much as advertising forces you to “look around subconsciously for cues on what to believe. ... The more people who are doing something, the more you feel that's what you should do and/or how you should feel even if you are fiercely independent.”

To hear more of what Mike Solana had to say about AI, social media, Bitcoin, and more, watch the full episode of "Zero Hour" with James Poulos.

America was convinced tech would complete our mastery of the world. Instead, we got catastrophe — constant crises from politics and the economy down to the spiritual fiber of our being. Time’s up for the era we grew up in. How do we pick ourselves up and begin again? To find out, visionary author and media theorist James Poulos cracks open the minds — and hearts — of today’s top figures in politics, tech, ideas, and culture on "Zero Hour" on BlazeTV.

DOJ Sues China-Based TikTok for Collecting 'Extensive Personal Information' From Children

The Department of Justice on Friday sued TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, alleging the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform breached U.S. child privacy laws by allowing millions of children to create accounts and unlawfully collecting their personal information.

The post DOJ Sues China-Based TikTok for Collecting 'Extensive Personal Information' From Children appeared first on .

TikTok Executives To Speak at Conference Organized by Group That Has Defended Hamas Attack on Israel and Promoted 'Knife Intifada'

TikTok, the Chinese-controlled social media giant, has denied allegations that it enables anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas content on its platform. That claim will be a tough sell given the company's partnership with an anti-Israel "digital rights" group that defends Hamas and has called for "intifada" against Israel.

The post TikTok Executives To Speak at Conference Organized by Group That Has Defended Hamas Attack on Israel and Promoted 'Knife Intifada' appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Chinese Embassy Lobbies Congress Against TikTok Bill: Report

Chinese Embassy officials met with congressional staffers to lobby against a bill that would force TikTok's sale to a non-Chinese company, Politico reported Wednesday. 

The post Chinese Embassy Lobbies Congress Against TikTok Bill: Report appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Ex-TikTok Employee Says He Was Ordered To Send US Data to China

A former senior employee at TikTok said he was ordered to send American user data to Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, contradicting TikTok’s public claims of operating independently from China, according to a Fortune report published Monday. 

The post Ex-TikTok Employee Says He Was Ordered To Send US Data to China appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

WATCH: Massie and Roy take opposite sides on TikTok ban bill



Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Chip Roy of Texas, who took opposite sides on a measure that pertains to the popular social media app TikTok, appeared on "GlennTV" to debate their views on the matter.

In an overwhelmingly bipartisan 352-65 vote last week, the House of Representatives passed a measure that would lead to a ban on TikTok in the U.S. unless divestiture conditions are met. The legislation is called the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" and is not strictly limited to TikTok but could be used to target entities that qualify as a "foreign adversary controlled application." The measure would still need to clear the Senate before it could head to the president.

While Massie and Roy often align ideologically — including when they both previously backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in the 2024 GOP presidential primary — they do not agree with each other on this piece of legislation.

Massie voted against the measure while Roy voted for it.

BlazeTV host Glenn Beck kicked the debate off by playfully asking, "Neither of you have taken money from ByteDance, TikTok, or Hunter Biden, right?"

Massie said that he has taken money from a U.S. investor in TikTok, though he noted that he has not spoken to that individual about the measure. Roy said that he knew who Massie was referring to, but indicated that he was not sure whether he has taken money from that individual or not.

Roy said there is "a concerted effort by the Chinese Communist Party to use this tool to undermine our national security" by serving people "misinformation."

Massie said that, according to the Supreme Court, Americans have the right to access foreign propaganda.

Beck quipped that if that weren't the case ,"ABC, NBC, CBS," as well as "CNN wouldn't be on the air."

Massie later suggested that the measure would not have needed to be as long as it is if it just went after TikTok. "I'm concerned about the discretion it gives to the president," he noted.

Watch the full debate on 'GlennTV':

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Gallagher Thinks TikTok Is A Bigger Security Threat Than Democrats’ Border Invasion

Gallagher voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has willfully failed to defend the homeland.

Spies, lies, and TikTok ties exposed



Did you know that ByteDance, which is TikTok’s parent company, also makes movies? Its studio in Beijing is located close to the headquarters of China’s Ministry of State Security. This is convenient because ByteDance, while streaming billions of individuals onto our screens via TikTok, is also building an artificial intelligence infrastructure that is run by the Chinese intelligence service.

ByteDance is not an entertainment company. It is part of the military intelligence apparatus of the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok’s algorithm was written to keep people glued to their phones. The party has ruled that TikTok’s algorithm is a national security asset.

China is trying to destroy us without firing a shot, and we’re playing footsie.

Military strategists in China say they need mind superiority through “perception manipulation” via propaganda. They do this by changing how people look at the present, cutting off a people's historic memory, warping their view of their own country’s past so people will be open to changing their views.

They aim to change the paradigm of the way people think by targeting people to change the way they view their problems, and thereby, changing their belief. They want to deconstruct symbols. By getting people to reject certain traditional symbols, they modify a nation’s identity.

We’ve got our own people in our own country trying to do all those things. When you’re taking down the statutes or reimagining history, what do you think you’re doing? You’re dismantling historical narrative, so we are more likely to collapse.

Here's the kicker, according to the Chinese Communist Party: The ultimate goal is to manipulate a country’s value and to achieve strategic goals without an actual overt military battle. China is trying to destroy us without firing a shot, and we’re playing footsie .

Meanwhile, we're also having China build everything. The Chinese crane manufacturing company at the center of a congressional espionage investigation denied posing a threat to U.S. national security.

Here's what happened. At our seaports, China builds ship-to-shore cargo cranes. Those are the giant cranes you saw Tom Cruise operating in “War of the Worlds.” Spying devices were found in all the cranes China was making. China was in complete denial of any espionage activity, but we know the truth: The Chinese are just spying on our ports.

Trojan horse sound familiar?

Then there’s the threat that China poses on a global scale. This week, the chiefs of all the major U.S. spy agencies spoke before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The threats reported during that meeting noted that trade between China and Russia has been increasing since the start of the Ukraine war and that the Chinese exports of goods, with potential military use, rose more than threefold since 2022.

China is helping Russia.

China is partnering with Russia. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an ally of former President Donald Trump, has so far refused to call on a vote that would provide $60 billion more for Ukraine. The measure has passed in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Why would we want to get into a bigger war with Russia when we now know that China is in bed with Russia? Our real enemy is China.

CIA director William Burns testified that continued support for Ukraine would send a message to China. Would it? Really? “It's our assessment that Chinese leader Xi Jinping was sobered by what happened in Ukraine,” he said.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the committee, “The crisis in Gaza is a stark example of how regional developments have the potential of broader, even global implications.”

Haines also noted attacks by the Houthi militias on shipping and said the militant groups “al-Qaeda and ISIS, inspired by Hamas, have directed supporters to conduct attacks against Israeli and U.S. interests.” Well, that sounds good, right? We should send more money to Iran!

After a protester interrupted the hearing with shouts about the need to protect civilians in Gaza, the spy chiefs turned to protecting the Palestinian enclave. The reality is, children are starving. They’re malnourished because humanitarian assistance can't get to them. Whose fault is that? They said it’s difficult to distribute humanitarian existence effectively unless you have a ceasefire.

Sure.

Emotions rose in the hearing as some senators discussed illegal immigration along the U.S. border with Mexico. Immigration is not a forefront concern of these people. It wouldn’t have been brought up unless a senator pressed the intelligence agency officials to discuss it.

Yet, here tensions rose. FBI director Christopher Wray expressed concern about “terrorism implications” from potential targeting of vulnerabilities at the border. He discussed rising threats from Americans inspired by Islamic groups and other foreign militants since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

So, who are we talking about when officials reference a “rising threat from Americans?” What Americans are we talking about?

Are we talking about those monstrous MAGA Trump supporters who are somehow or another “inspired” by foreign militants? Because I know you would never want to say the word “Muslim.” But anybody who believes in the Constitution seems to be on a terrorist watch list right now.

Meanwhile, the Italian police just arrested three Palestinians allegedly planning terrorist attacks in Italy. And what are we doing? The Department of Justice has just issued a gag order that has required immigration judges to seek department approval before speaking out publicly on anything regarding the border.

So, we’re now silencing the speech — the First Amendment rights — of our judges. Toward freedom or away from freedom? You can decide for yourself.

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Shocking: Boeing whistleblower found dead from 'self-inflicted gunshot wound,' but his lawyers say there is 'no indication' he would take his life



Boeing planes have come under intense scrutiny as more and more issues with aircraft arise.

“Every other day I see a headline — and it’s usually United Airlines, by the way,” that reads “Boeing flight has a problem,” says Sara Gonzales.

While planes malfunctioning is certainly deeply concerning, so is this: “A former Boeing employee known for raising concerns about the firm's production standards has been found dead in the United States,” reports Sara.

John Barnett worked for Boeing for 32 years but retired in 2017.

“In the days before his death, he was actually involved in a lawsuit giving whistleblower testimony against Boeing,” says Sara, adding that reports indicate that Barnett’s death is a result of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

“In 2019 [Barnett] told BBC that under-pressure workers had been deliberately fitting substandard parts to aircraft on the production line. He said that he had uncovered serious problems with oxygen systems, which could mean one in four breathing masks would not work in an emergency. He said soon after starting work in South Carolina, he had become concerned that the push to get new aircraft built meant the assembly process was rushed and safety was compromised.”

Boeing, of course, denied all the allegations.

“I think we're seeing who was correct in that analysis, and I don't believe that it was Boeing,” says Sara.

Quoting Barnett’s lawyers, she reads, “John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which finally was nearing the end. He was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on. We didn't see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it.”

However, according to the reports, “there was a suicide note” found next to Barnett.

“A hotel staff member found him after someone contacted the hotel for a wellness check on him. He had his right pointer finger remaining on the trigger with a gunshot wound near his right temple,” says Sara, citing reports.

“I don’t know if you still hold on to the gun after you do that,” she says skeptically, adding that Boeing is a “very powerful” company.”

“Let's say this,” says Eric July of Rippaverse Comics. “If there was to be a company that could make things go away, it would for sure be them.”

To hear more of the conversation, watch the video below.


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