TikTok Pushes Sexual Content To Minors While Censoring Christian Games: Report
All seven accounts soon 'encountered pornographic content just a small number of clicks after setting up the account.'All seven accounts soon 'encountered pornographic content just a small number of clicks after setting up the account.'Why Trump’s TikTok takeover won’t stop China’s digital Trojan horse
President Donald Trump and his team deserve considerable credit for the skillful way they gained control of TikTok, the video-sharing app that has become one of America’s main sources of news.
The deal could have gone down badly. Critics could have called it “proto-socialism,” especially after the government’s recent purchase of a 10% stake in Intel and its “golden share” of U.S. Steel. Moreover, the same bureaucrats who can’t run the IRS and the post office without getting egg on their faces probably aren’t equipped to run a $30 trillion annual economy either.
Every embedded Chinese system carries a national security risk. Each piece of foreign tech installed in American supply chains is another listening device, another lever of control.
However, most otherwise critical observers gave this deal a pass because the change in TikTok’s control wasn’t about market meddling; it was about national security.
Digital espionage
Despite the platform’s American majority of investors, TikTok still posed a significant national security threat. China’s tactic of using electronics for espionage purposes is well-documented. The targets of this espionage go beyond China’s enemies to friends, neighbors, and competitors alike — including the U.S. government. Technologists working on Beijing’s behalf have hacked their way through secure U.S. government systems for at least a decade, if not longer.
In that vein, TikTok’s role in Beijing’s espionage apparatus is clear. Its nearly ubiquitous presence on smartphones presents Beijing with tantalizing opportunities: a nearly endless network through which viruses can spread, or a means of obtaining private data from a global consumer base. But turning TikTok over to American management doesn’t solve the problem — not by a long shot.
The Chinese telecommunications industry is not like “Ma Bell.” It operates as an adjunct of state security forces, sometimes gathering and reporting requested data back to Beijing. The British press has reported extensively on how Huawei was doing just that: leaving secret back doors open in its equipment that the People’s Liberation Army could walk through anytime it wanted.
Spying through shopping
Huawei isn’t the only offender. A lesser-known firm called Hanshow supplies “smart electronic shelf labels” to supermarkets, a price and inventory control tool that provides Beijing with data about what Americans are buying and in real time, wherever it’s installed.
In the midst of a trade war — with America overly dependent on China for essential consumer goods and medical supplies — that information could be used against us. It’s not just marketplace ephemera; it’s a road map to identify choke points of a major competitor that could disrupt our daily patterns of life.
RELATED: TikTok is finally coming home
That’s only one of the products Hanshow sells. It also offers AI-powered cameras, inventory robots, and smart shopping carts, which are all tied to a proprietary IT platform called All-Star. These products together provide the company and its associates in the Chinese security services with an entry point into supermarket IT networks, from point-of-sale systems to vendor portals.
Like Huawei, Hanshow is backed by investors tied to the regime and is legally bound to cooperate with the Chinese military. Its footprint is expanding, with its technology and systems used in some capacity by major customers in the American marketplace, including Instacart, Kroger, and Walmart. By some estimates, tens of millions of American shoppers have already transmitted critical financial and personal data through portals linked to Hanshow devices. By 2025, it could be more than 150 million.
The Chinese digital Cerberus
Every embedded Chinese system carries a national security risk. Each piece of foreign tech installed in American supply chains is another listening device, another lever of control. The Chinese Communist Party has a head start, and Washington cannot afford to keep looking the other way.
Trump’s TikTok deal was the right move. But the broader fight isn’t about one app. It’s about defending American data and protecting national security. The United States needs a comprehensive response to China’s technological infiltration — starting yesterday.
Trump admin reveals details of TikTok deal that would hand control to Americans
The Trump administration revealed additional details on Monday regarding the deal to save TikTok, ensuring the app's safety and security for over 170 million American users.
A senior White House official explained that the administration and China had reached an agreement to transfer TikTok's U.S. operations into a new joint venture based in the U.S., with Americans comprising the majority of the app's investors, owners, and board of directors.
'This deal means that TikTok will be majority owned by Americans in the United States.'
The U.S. government will not take equity in the joint venture. President Donald Trump would like the app's investors to be patriotic, the official remarked, adding that the administration hopes those appointed to the board will have a background in cybersecurity and national security.
As required by law, TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, will not hold more than 20% of the app's stock.
With this deal, Oracle will serve as TikTok's security provider, managing how the app is updated and how data is stored. The official noted that all American data is currently stored, and will continue to be stored, in the U.S. on Oracle's system.
China will provide a copy of the app's content recommendation algorithm to the U.S. joint venture system for inspection, operation, and monitoring.
RELATED: TikTok is finally coming home
Trump is expected to sign an executive order later this week that will declare the terms of the agreement.
The White House official highlighted the importance of the administration's efforts to save TikTok, noting that doing so would protect jobs and enable American businesses to continue using the app for promotional purposes.
The official stated that the administration is confident that China approved the terms of the deal during a meeting last week in Madrid, Spain.
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Trump stated on Friday that he had "a great call with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping]," adding that he had approved the deal.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Saturday that the White House was "100% confident" that it had reached a deal with China.
"Now that deal just needs to be signed, and the president's team is working with their Chinese counterparts to do just that," Leavitt told Fox News. "This deal means that TikTok will be majority owned by Americans in the United States. There will be seven seats on the board that controls the app in the United States, and six of those seats will be Americans."
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TikTok is finally coming home
After what were described as high-stakes talks in Madrid, President Trump and the Chinese have seemingly fashioned a deal that will please both parties when it comes to TikTok.
Whether users are watching Chinese factories shuck garments or consuming soft-core pornography via the platform's top star, a TikTok ban is not popular among American consumers, content creators, or activists.
'I've reached a deal with China, I'm going to speak to President Xi on Friday.'
After seemingly working for months to get a deal done that would not only limit the exposure of Americans' data to foreign adversaries but keep the app alive for the doom scrollers, Trump announced this week that his discussions with China have gone "VERY WELL."
"The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL!" the president wrote on Truth Social Monday.
He continued, "It will be concluding shortly. A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save."
According to insiders, American companies will finally have a stake in the massive app.
RELATED: YouTube admits to secretly manipulating videos with AI
— (@)
While a U.S. buyer has not been officially identified, the Wall Street Journal has reported through unnamed sources that a group of buyers could include Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Oracle is a software company, Silver Lake is a private investment firm, and Andreessen Horowitz is a venture capital firm.
The consortium would control TikTok's stateside business with 80% ownership, and existing American TikTokers would be asked to move their viewership or content to a new app that is reportedly being tested.
Oracle will allegedly be responsible for housing user data in Texas, which is a long flight from the usual data mines of Singapore, where TikTok parent ByteDance stores some of its U.S. data.
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"We have a deal on TikTok, I've reached a deal with China, I'm going to speak to President Xi on Friday to confirm everything up," Trump told reporters as he left the White House this week, per the BBC.
As for China's side of the deal, deputy head of China's cyberspace administration, Wang Jingtao, said that part of the agreement includes "licensing the algorithm and other intellectual property rights."
"The Chinese government will, according to law, examine and approve relevant matters involving TikTok, such as the export of technology as well as the license use of intellectual property," the Chinese official added.
According to CNBC, the deal is expected to close in the next 30 to 45 days.
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TikTok Ban Gives Social Media Addicts A Chance At Sobriety If They Choose To Take It
Americans have a severe social media addiction and it shows.TikTok app in jeopardy after SCOTUS upholds ban, citing 'national security concerns'
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday upholding the federal ban on TikTok, a popular social media app used by 170 million Americans.
In a unanimous decision, SCOTUS agreed with the government that "national security concerns" regarding the app's affiliation with the People's Republic of China and its data collection outweighed users' First Amendment rights.
"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the opinion said. "But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary."
Last April, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which would compel ByteDance, the China-based company that owns TikTok, to divest from the app by this Sunday.
TikTok claimed that the law "was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information," and Noel Francisco, who argued before SCOTUS on behalf of TikTok and ByteDance, said that if the law goes into effect, the app will "go dark" on January 19.
At that point, third-party providers like Apple and Google could face penalties for offering the app on their respective stores, and users who have already downloaded the app will likely no longer receive updates for it. Some TikTok influencers have already begun migrating their content to other platforms.
Though he signed the ban into law, President Joe Biden has signaled that enforcement of it will fall to the incoming administration. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that while "TikTok should remain available to Americans," it should have "American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law."
'The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it.'
With the deadline fast approaching, President-elect Donald Trump has appeared interested in reaching a middle way regarding TikTok. He asked SCOTUS last month to suspend implementation of the law so that his administration could work out a "political resolution" for the matter. TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be one of several tech titans to attend Trump's inauguration on Monday.
The courts have thus far not cooperated. Back in December, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals — which included an Obama appointee, a Reagan appointee, and a Trump appointee — upheld the ban.
Now with SCOTUS — composed of one Biden appointee, three Trump appointees, two Obama appointees, two George W. Bush appointees, and one George H.W. Bush appointee — upholding the ban, Trump may have to get creative to find a solution.
Shortly after the ruling came down on Friday, Trump indicated he had already anticipated that SCOTUS would keep the ban in place. "The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!" he posted to Truth Social .
In a separate post, Trump also hinted that he may be able to reach a solution about TikTok with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping directly.
I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!
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Trump Shouldn’t Waste His Political Capital On ‘Saving’ TikTok
Letting TikTok go and enforcing the ban it deserves is the right course of action.Today's top stories
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