Politics, economics, privacy—there are multiple layers to the U.S. government’s stance on TikTok. In the public discourse, though, the privacy layer in particular gets the most attention, especially since President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month laying out a path to the sale of the North American operations of the Chinese-owned social media app before it is outright banned in 90 days (an increase from 45 originally).
“I can assure that any deal that gets approved will make sure that American data is protected and that this becomes a U.S.-based company,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Tuesday. Is it reassuring that TikTok will be free from any potential Chinese influence imposed upon its current parent company ByteDance? Sure, and this shouldn’t be understated given the unique national security risks an authoritarian superpower like China poses to the United States. But isn’t it also a little bit ironic to hear Mnuchin say American data will be protected when TikTok becomes U.S.-owned?
