Trump's Tik Tok Tango: National Security or Global Strategy?
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Did you know that the top five social media platforms in the world, based on the maximum number of active users, are Facebook (with 3.07 billion active monthly users), YouTube (2.5 billion), WhatsApp and Instagram (both with 2 billion), and Tik Tok (1.58 billion monthly active users)?
Out of these top 5, 4 are US-operated.
And yes, you guessed it: the only platform that made it to the list of the top 5 globally based on reach and is not US-operated is Tik Tok. Yet, the US government conveniently considers it a "threat to national security."
Donald Trump was the first to propose a ban on Tik Tok. In August 2020, he signed an executive order instructing ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese tech company that owns TikTok, to divest from the app. This order was reversed by the Biden administration in 2021. However, in 2024, the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" was proposed again in Congress, approved, and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Now, as of January 19th, President Trump has given ByteDance Ltd. 75 days to either sell a stake in the platform to US ownership or strike a deal with him, suggesting a "joint venture" that would "make a lot of money."
Before I dive deeper, take a moment to list all the social media platforms you use daily other than those mentioned. Snapchat? LinkedIn? Platform X? Pinterest? Quora? Reddit? Skype? FaceTime? Zoom? Meet? iMessage? They're all US-operated, and the list goes on.
Now, the US considers Tik Tok a national security threat, alleging that Chinese authorities are accessing US user data through it and might manipulate the app's recommendation algorithm to influence operations. But if that's the case, what's to say that the US is any better?
Most of these social media platforms finance themselves predominantly through the sale of group- specific ad placements and the commercial exploitation of user data. Some networks even sell data directly to third parties. You might think this is illegal, but the platforms grant themselves the right to do so in their terms of use.
Well, there goes our fundamental right to privacy...
Now, why should this be concerning? Because data monetization not only breaches our right to privacy but also gives these apps the power to influence audiences and change narratives according to their will all while making money off of it. The fact that most of these apps are US-owned highlights the enormous soft power the West holds. It's plausible to say the West has been influencing us tricking us into thinking, saying, and believing whatever they want, without us even realising it. And when the tables turned, they called it a "threat to national security."
During the Cold War, power politics and global dynamics were very different. Back then, power came from arms acquisition. But times have changed. Data is now the new power in geopolitics, and the US wants to re-establish its hegemony. Threatening to ban Tik Tok unless it sells stakes to the US is a clear example of how and if I may say is the "first step towards world domination."
Some call it business, others call it politics. I beg to differ! I call it glorified hypocrisy.
Data, domination, and double standards are the new definition of geopolitics.
It's high time we stop playing clueless, break the cycle of "sit-scroll-rot," pay attention to what's right in front of us, and stop ourselves from becoming pawns in the global power game-or our bodies from becoming mere tools of political identity!
PS: When Elon Musk buys TikTok, becomes the hero of the US, and plays the catalyst in "making America great again," you can call me psychic.
By : Ruhani Khanna