Even the CEO of “The Advisory Counsel, LLC” which openly promotes leftist ideals warned against the dangers of communist Chinese government-tied TikTok.
The former international communications attorney for the Federal Communications Commission and CEO of The Advisory Counsel Adonis Hoffman said American TikTok users are “literally dancing with the enemy.”
The Advisory Counsel proudly advertises its leftist activism. On its website, the firm called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Environmental, Social and Governance “intrinsic to our work and perspective” and “reflected in the DNA of the professionals at The Advisory Counsel.” But even Hoffman recognizes that TikTok is a “Trojan horse” that surreptitiously wages war on America.
In an op-ed for The Hill, Hoffman wrote that “[w]hen it comes to TikTok, millions of Americans have been laughing, dancing and singing along with the popular and entertaining videos. But we should not overlook what is actually happening under our very noses. He added. “In America’s simple, silly and sublime desire for endless entertainment, we are literally dancing with the enemy.”
He also stressed the fact that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can control Chinese corporations. ByteDance-owned TikTok is no exception. “Most private companies in China come under direct or indirect control of the Chinese government, which is notoriously secretive and opaque on ownership and operational details,” he wrote. “TikTok seems to be no different. Its algorithm is at once simple and sinister.”
Hoffman noted the platform’s alarming data privacy policy, which has been highly criticized by many, including podcaster Joe Rogan.
TikTok’s privacy policy explains that the platform collects very detailed information, including a user’s’ “IP address, geolocation-related data…, unique device identifiers, browsing and search history (including content you have viewed in the Platform), and Cookies.”
The platform also amasses a considerable amount of information about its users' devices. The platform admits in its policy that TikTok collects information about the user’s “mobile carrier, time zone settings, ... model of your device, the device system, network type, device IDs, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms, battery state, audio settings and connected audio devices.”
Hoffman pointed to perhaps the most alarming line of TikTok’s policy. “We may share all of the information we collect with a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of our corporate group,” TikTok shamelessly declares in its policy.
“[T]hat means the Chinese Government too,” Hoffman wrote.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact TikTok via email at communitymanager@tiktok.com and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
