So a TikTok ban is being floated again, or at least a Chinese divestiture.
Trump flip-flops because he’s now benefiting from an influx of cash from someone associated with the app, so his voice continues to be compromised and useless. The House is all for banning it, or at least insistent that it switches hands to American ownership and oversight, while the general public is in so deep that it can’t imagine life without it. Americans across the land are yelling and screaming and threatening to maybe do themselves bodily harm if TikTok is banned.
Here’s the thing: there have been suspicions from the beginning, whether based on paranoia or on legitimate concerns. We knew early on that there were red flags, since it originates in China. The chances of it being solely some innocent money maker for a nerdy developer are likely quite low. The likelihood of there being something nefarious about it are not as low.
It’s no secret that the Chinese government is waging cyber war on us, and here’s an innocent looking app that allows China to pretty much enter past the sleeping dog and through the front door. And of course, with 170 million American users, there is no turning back.
Game, set, and match to China.
Let’s start a conspiracy theory: developers in China hit upon TikTok, need a larger market share, set their eyes on the American market, and develop not just the app, but a virus that becomes a pandemic, isolating people, providing fertile ground and a need for some sort of outlet, some way of staying connected. Voila! TikTok fills the void. China knows Americans’ sweet tooth/Achille’s heel– a fixation on individuality and fame– and what better way to indulge this than an app that allows them to strut their stuff before the world?
That was easy. Maybe far-fetched and inaccurate, but easy.
3 Cents' 