Expert warns of 'chilling reality' TikTok threat poses: 'China's greatest asymmetric advantage'

China’s "infiltration" of civilian sermon successful nan United States poses an "immediate" threat to Democracy and is 1 of nan "greatest threats we look today" successful position of nationalist security, according to an master connected China. 

"TikTok is not conscionable a technological concern, it is not conscionable a societal media problem, TikTok is coming China's top asymmetric advantage against America," Michael Sobolik, writer of nan caller book "Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance," told Fox News Digital. 

"It represents nan astir contiguous threat to American populist that nan Chinese Communist Party poses."

China’s domiciled successful "infiltrating our civilian discourse" done TikTok represents 1 of nan "most important problem sets successful US-China relations," Sobolik explained, because "you person astir half of America connected 1 app that nan Chinese Communist Party controls, and they can manipulate nationalist sentiment and dispersed propaganda."

MASSIVE PRO-DEMOCRAT TIKTOK ACCOUNT THAT SUPPORTED BIDEN IN 2020 HAS ‘SOURED’ ON PRESIDENT

Author Michael Sobolik told Fox News Digital that TikTok is possibly nan top nationalist information threat nan U.S. faces (Fox News Digital)

"It’s a immense problem."

Sobolik, a Senior Fellow successful Indo-Pacific Studies astatine nan American Foreign Policy Council, told Fox News Digital that 170 cardinal Americans are connected nan societal media level pinch 150 cardinal of them connected nan tract for astatine slightest an hr a day. A ample chunk of those users, Sobolik said, trust connected nan level for news, which nan Chinese authorities is utilizing to its advantage.

"The Chinese Communist Party controls TikTok, because TikTok's genitor institution ByteDance is domiciled wrong of China," Sobolik said. "As such, they must comply pinch immoderate requests that they person from Beijing to move complete U.S. personification data, to censor content, aliases to boost content. They person nary recourse of saying nary to nan CCP. There person already been documented instances of TikTok surveilling U.S. journalists to effort to fig retired who they were talking to wrong of nan company. ByteDance has already pledged its practice to activity pinch Beijing to hone its algorithm to beforehand nan CCP's interests."

TAYLOR SWIFT'S SONGS REAPPEAR ON TIKTOK AHEAD OF POP STAR'S NEW ALBUM RELEASE DESPITE DISPUTE

Members of Congress person been debating complete nan past respective months whether to prohibition TikTok successful nan United States aliases unit nan waste of nan institution to an entity extracurricular of China. Opponents of nan bills connected nan Republican broadside have argued that banning nan celebrated societal media app "goes against nan First Amendment."

Sobolik flatly rejected that idea.

"None of this is simply a mystery," Sobolik said. "This is documented. There are instances of TikTok’s censoring contented astir Tibet, nan Uyghurs, Tiananmen Square and different delicate issues to nan Chinese Communist Party. The concerns pinch TikTok person thing to do pinch free speech. The concerns for TikTok are that an adversarial federation controls 1 of nan biggest pillars of accusation successful nan United States today. And if you deliberation that's only a theoretical concern, ideate if China goes to warfare pinch Taiwan. And then, arsenic that is happening, floods TikTok pinch pro-CCP messages, pinch disinformation astir what's happening, and tries to push a nationalist sentiment run that America should enactment retired and not do thing to thief Taiwan."

"China has 1 of nan strongest abilities to manipulate U.S. nationalist sentiment successful its grasp today. This should beryllium a chilling reality. This should nonstop a shiver down nan spines of each American."

MOST AMERICANS SUPPORT HOUSE PLAN TO BAN TIKTOK IF IT ISN'T SOLD, POLL FINDS

Michael Sobolik, writer of Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance  (Fox News Digital)

Sobolik continued, "The contented you spot connected TikTok whitethorn consciousness unsocial to you, but you are being fed contented from an algorithm that is controlled by America's main adversary. This is simply a Trojan equine wrong of nan United States, and it is precocious past clip for members of Congress to return this seriously. To put nan state first and to footwear this Trojan equine retired of America's walls. We cannot let this app to proceed to usability nether nan power of nan Chinese Communist Party."

"America has a weapon pointed astatine its caput each azygous time successful nan accusation realm. We person to return attraction of this rumor and we must do it now. There are nary law concerns of immoderate meaning here. This is simply a nationalist information concern, and it is 1 of nan top concerns that we look today."

It remains unclear whether Congress has nan necessary political appetite to prohibition aliases dissolve TikTok, and Sobolik told Fox News Digital that he believes that mobility is "going to beryllium 1 of nan biggest tests for America."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

TikTok app connected an iPhone (iStock)

"If we tin hole this TikTok problem, that will beryllium 1 of nan astir encouraging signs that we've seen successful decades astir our seriousness pinch protecting our liberty and our state and for opposing tyranny," Sobolik said. "If we fto this problem go, if we don't hole it, we whitethorn arsenic good spell location and get retired of nan awesome powerfulness title altogether.

"Because again, remember, protecting yourself is nan bare minimum. Good defense mightiness triumph NBA hoops championships, but bully defense is nan bare minimum. It's bully housekeeping. You don't get a golden prima for taking attraction of your ain homeland. You get a golden prima for going retired successful opposing authoritarian regimes. Cold wars are won by seizing nan inaugural and going connected nan offensive. If we cannot sever TikTok from CCP control, we person overmuch bigger problems."

In a connection to Fox News Digital, a TikTok spokesperson said "multiple media outlets person reported" that "there is not a shred of evidence" to nan "outlandish claims" that TikTok is simply a alloy of nan Chinese government.

"The reality is nan prohibition measure would trample nan First Amendment authorities of 170 cardinal Americans and devastate 7 cardinal mini businesses nationwide," nan spokesperson said.