{"id":1619718,"date":"2022-08-23T07:01:27","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T11:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1619718"},"modified":"2022-08-23T07:02:37","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T11:02:37","slug":"tiktoks-new-elections-center-is-a-massive-threat-to-national-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiktoks-new-elections-center-is-a-massive-threat-to-national-security\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok\u2019s New \u2018Elections Center\u2019 Is A Massive Threat To National Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftiktoks-new-elections-center-is-a-massive-threat-to-national-security%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1619718&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>TikTok just unveiled an \u201cElections Center\u201d that will put detailed voter profiles in the hands of a company based in Beijing, stocked with party members and state employees, subject to laws that allow the Chinese government data access. Given the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s influence over ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, China could exercise enormous control over the midterm elections with this data. What\u2019s worse is that American institutions are actively encouraging TikTok to do this. <\/p>\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/on-tiktok-its-all-fun-and-games-until-beijing-wants-your-info-china-ccp-national-security-app-store-apple-google-information-data-11658347613\">law<\/a>, ByteDance is required to give China access to its data upon request. TikTok claims such requests would be rejected, but there is no way to know whether that\u2019s true. We do, however, know that members of the CCP actually <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/07\/tiktok-claimed-it-doesnt-share-data-with-communist-china-but-evidence-says-u-s-users-are-compromised\/\">work<\/a> for ByteDance. We also know TikTok\u2019s data has been accessed in China, despite the company\u2019s claims. Finally, we know TikTok is currently the most popular social network in America. <\/p>\n<p>Last week, TikTok boasted in a <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.tiktok.com\/en-us\/our-commitment-to-election-integrity\">press release<\/a> about the creation of its new Elections Center. The center will influence American elections on two fronts: by providing voter information and countering \u201cmisinformation.\u201d The first front means TikTok will have voting profiles on all American users who click through the Elections Center, and the second front means a Chinese company will be policing our political discourse on the single most popular social network. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"605\" height=\"745\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-22-at-5.52.54-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-277954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-22-at-5.52.54-PM.png 605w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-22-at-5.52.54-PM-244x300-1.png 244w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Data<\/h2>\n<p>According to TikTok, the center will \u201cconnect people who engage with election content to authoritative information and sources in more than 45 languages.\u201d That may sound lovely, but it means when users select their state and click \u201cregister to vote,\u201d TikTok can now cross-reference their location and interest in voting with their age, political leanings, and other attributes that can be gleaned from its vast trove of data.<\/p>\n<p>Why does that matter? Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology and \u201cThe Social Dilemma\u201d joined \u201cThe Federalist Radio Hour\u201d last week to outline the threats posed by TikTok. With the app\u2019s data, Harris <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/18\/its-time-to-treat-social-media-as-a-public-health-emergency\/\">explained<\/a>, China \u201ccan look at all the voting districts in the swing states and \u2026 can basically look at people\u2019s sentiments with an AI that calculates what people\u2019s opinions are in all the key voting areas.<\/p>\n<p>Then, added Harris, China \u201ccan strategically up-regulate everybody who starts to say, you know, China\u2019s really not so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf China were to invade Taiwan tomorrow, they could up-regulate all the American voices who are saying that Taiwan was always a part of China,\u201d Harris noted. (Listen to Elbridge Colby\u2019s recent <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/bidens-china-strategy-is-failing\/id983782306?i=1000576288849\">appearance<\/a> on \u201cThe Federalist Radio Hour\u201d to get a sense of how fragile this relationship really is.) That could be done on a local, state, or national scale on a variety of issues. <\/p>\n<p>This is a hypothetical, to be sure, but it\u2019s a tool we\u2019re simply hoping a hostile foreign power will not utilize. Imagine China knows there are a handful of likely Mark Kelly voters in a certain area of Arizona. TikTok could feed them content that could, in turn, encourage more Democrat-leaning users to vote against Blake Masters or feed likely voters who consume conservative content videos that might depress turnout for Masters. <\/p>\n<p>Perhaps there are disincentives for the CCP to actually weaponize TikTok data: It could leak and escalate conflict outside the party\u2019s control; it could harm the bottom line of one of their most powerful companies; it could jeopardize the long-term control China has over the American public\u2019s social and individual health through the app. <\/p>\n<p>There is no guarantee China will weaponize this data now or in the future, but there is absolutely no reason for us to willingly forfeit it either. The risk is not remotely worth whatever reward American consumers think they\u2019re getting.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Misinformation\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>On the \u201cmisinformation\u201d front, it\u2019s obviously bad enough that Big Tech companies based in America or China now believe it\u2019s their duty to police the public discourse. But it\u2019s also in China\u2019s interest to foment cultural discord and hamper politicians who might undercut their geopolitical aspirations. Controlling the rhetoric Americans are allowed to post and see on one of the most popular sources of discussion and information is a major advantage for China.<\/p>\n<p>Would the CCP hand marching orders to ByteDance and TikTok? Maybe, but they also wouldn\u2019t have to be explicit. The overwhelming ideology of censors is one that favors leftism and opposes everything else. The information that gets powerfully suppressed almost always counters the political establishment, whether it\u2019s on transgenderism, race, election integrity, Covid policies, or China. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s bad enough a major corporation exerts this much control over the discourse at all, let alone in an election cycle, let alone one owned by China. Whether based in America or overseas, social media makes us less happy and less healthy basically across the board. That we\u2019ve forfeited this much control to a hostile foreign power is one of the most mind-boggling, slow-motion political blunders in modern history. <\/p>\n<h2>American Partners<\/h2>\n<p>Instead of collective opposition to this transparent data suck, American institutions actually helped and endorsed TikTok\u2019s creation of the Elections Center. TikTok partnered with the National Association of Secretaries of State, Ballotpedia, the Campus Vote Project, and the Federal Voting Assistance Program, among other organizations, to \u201cprovide information\u201d on the hub. <\/p>\n<p>The Federal Voting Assistance Program, for example, is a taxpayer-funded government group that \u201cworks to ensure Service members, their eligible family members, and overseas citizens are aware of their right to vote and have the tools and resources to successfully do so \u2014 from anywhere in the world.\u201d This is a wonderful mission, but whoever authorized the TikTok partnership at FVAP made a bad decision, one that could ultimately help China draw us into a military conflict and gain the upper hand when it comes to influencing public opinion. <\/p>\n<p>It should be an embarrassment for any of these groups to affiliate with TikTok at all, particularly on this effort. <\/p>\n<h2>The Threat<\/h2>\n<p>Around the time TikTok announced the Elections Center, Forbes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/emilybaker-white\/2022\/08\/10\/bytedance-tiktok-china-state-media-propaganda\/?sh=2c4ca32c322f\">reported<\/a> that \u201cthree hundred current employees at TikTok and its parent company ByteDance previously worked for Chinese state media publications, according to public employee LinkedIn profiles.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Forbes found that 50 of those profiles \u201cspecifically mentioned work on TikTok, in areas including policy, strategy, operations, monetization, user experience and localization.\u201d Last month, TikTok <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/22126313-tiktok-letter-to-senators\">confirmed<\/a> an explosive Buzzfeed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/emilybakerwhite\/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access\">report<\/a> that found U.S. user data had been accessed in China. In 2020, the Department of Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/07\/tiktok-claimed-it-doesnt-share-data-with-communist-china-but-evidence-says-u-s-users-are-compromised\/\">found<\/a> that 130 members of the CCP worked for ByteDance in Beijing. <\/p>\n<p>TikTok is furiously working on \u201cProject Texas,\u201d an internal mission to emphasize its independence from Beijing. In the same week TikTok unveiled the Elections Center, Axios <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/08\/16\/oracle-auditing-tiktok-algorithms?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosmediatrends&amp;stream=top\">reported<\/a> that Oracle started\u00a0\u201cvetting TikTok\u2019s algorithms and content moderation models to ensure they aren\u2019t manipulated by Chinese authorities,\u201d now that its data had been routed into Oracle\u2019s cloud. <\/p>\n<p>This still puts valuable data and public influence in the hands of yet another private entity, which may not even be able to detect algorithm manipulation that benefits China when it\u2019s less overtly political and more subtle, like the promotion of trans ideology, anti-Americanism, and more. It also doesn\u2019t ensure Oracle would catch short-term election interference before damage is done. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this summer, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tried to turn Rep. Val Demings\u2019, D-Fla., use of TikTok into a political liability by running an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2022-election\/rubio-test-drives-new-attack-demings-tiktok-rcna38997\">ad<\/a> on her use of the app. In a sane society, that argument would be a layup. Unfortunately, in a country with tens of millions of daily TikTok users and an elite class of clapping seals more interested in suppressing the unwashed masses than countering China, it probably is not. Shortly after taking office, President Joe Biden actually rescinded former President Donald Trump\u2019s attempted ban on TikTok, despite his party\u2019s incessant <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/22\/the-election-denier-smear-is-the-dumbest-rhetorical-device-in-modern-politics\/\">posturing<\/a> about election integrity.<\/p>\n<p>Social media is a public health crisis. Every person who uses TikTok and every organization that partners with it or sends advertising money onto the platform is boosting authoritarian China\u2019s control over our individual well-being, our society, and our world. The company\u2019s new Elections Center underscores the urgency of this threat, putting detailed voter profiles and algorithmic control of a massive platform at the fingertips of a company staffed with loyalists to a hostile foreign government.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Emily Jashinsky is culture editor at The Federalist and host of Federalist Radio Hour. She previously covered politics as a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner. Prior to joining the Examiner, Emily was the spokeswoman for Young America\u2019s Foundation. She\u2019s interviewed leading politicians and entertainers and appeared regularly as a guest on major television news programs, including \u201cFox News Sunday,\u201d \u201cMedia Buzz,\u201d and \u201cThe McLaughlin Group.\u201d Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Real Clear Politics, and more. Emily also serves as director of the National Journalism Center, host of The Hill\u2019s weekly show \u201cRising Fridays,\u201d and a visiting fellow at Independent Women&#8217;s Forum. Originally from Wisconsin, she is a graduate of George Washington University.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-comments mt-30 mt-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-comments-container d-flex flex-column align-items-center py-30\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"106\" src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/fdrlst-mark.svg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-20\" alt=\"The Federalist logo eagle mark\" \/>    <\/p>\n<p>Unlock commenting by joining the Federalist Community.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/plans\/pricing\/\" class=\"btn btn-on-white\">Subscribe<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TikTok just unveiled an \u201cElections Center\u201d that will put detailed voter profiles in the hands of a company based in Beijing, stocked with party members and state employees, subject to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":554,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1619718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1619718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/554"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1619718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1619718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1619718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1619718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1619718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}