Critics argue that the TikTok framework deal preserves Chinese Communist Party influence over the platform’s algorithm, posing ongoing national security risks to Americans. In 2020, the Trump administration accepted the unanimous determination by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) that TikTok is spyware disguised as entertainment and propaganda, an addictive, highly manipulative platform ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Congress recognized this danger and, in 2024, passed bipartisan legislation requiring TikTok to be sold to American owners or banned outright. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court upheld the law, mandating a clear choice between divestiture and a ban, with no third option.
Yet the Trump administration now offers a “framework deal” that falls short of the law’s requirements. Instead of a clean break, the proposal would allow ByteDance to retain a board seat while leasing its algorithm to a group of American investors. This compromise is seen as a capitulation, as licensing is not ownership, and monitoring is not control. As long as ByteDance retains the ability to alter the algorithm from Beijing, the CCP will preserve its power to influence American minds and wage psychological warfare against the West. The administration implicitly concedes the deal’s weakness by touting Oracle’s ability to “fully inspect” the algorithm, though such inspections may only be searching for evidence of ByteDance’s ongoing manipulation of the platform.
The problem is not theoretical. Evidence shows how TikTok floods American feeds with antisemitic propaganda following terror attacks and celebrates political violence after the assassinations of Charlie Kirk and UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson. Meanwhile, content critical of China, such as the Uyghur genocide and Hong Kong crackdown, is buried. The algorithm, which serves this toxic mix, is banned domestically within China, highlighting the essence of information warfare. Allowing China to maintain control over TikTok’s algorithm allows the CCP to shape what our children watch and believe.
If Beijing retains control of TikTok in a crisis, it could funnel chaos to the phones of half the American population. Imagine if China goes to war with Taiwan and floods TikTok with pro-CCP messages, spreading disinformation and boosting a public opinion campaign that America should stay out of the conflict. The CCP is counting on American leaders ignoring this possibility. Equally troubling is the precedent set by Congress’s clear mandate for divestiture, which the courts affirmed. Instead of enforcing the law, the administration attempts to redefine