“TikTok is a national security threat to the United States. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.” Geoffrey Cain, author of “The Perfect Police State”
THOUGHT LEADERS
The TikTok Trojan Horse and China’s Surveillance Dystopia
I
Social media app is a threat to US national security, says author of ‘The Perfect Police State’
t’s a disaster waiting to happen,” Geoffrey Cain says. “Because TikTok, although the company denies it, is fundamentally obligated to follow the laws of China—laws created by the Chinese Communist Party.” In a recent episode of EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders,” host Jan Jekielek speaks with Cain,
an award-winning journalist, technologist, and author of “The Perfect Police State: An Undercover Odyssey Into China’s Terrifying Surveillance Dystopia of the Future.” Cain recently testified before the U.S. Senate about TikTok and why he believes the social media app’s troubled emergence in the United States, its shadowy corporate structure, and its connection to China’s
54 E P O C H I N S I G H T Week 44, 2022
security and data laws make it a unique national security threat. JAN JEKIELEK: Recently,
you were in the U.S. Senate giving testimony about social media and national security, specifically about TikTok. What did you find? GEOFFREY CAIN: TikTok
is a national security threat to the United States. It’s a disaster waiting to happen,
because TikTok, although the company denies it, is fundamentally obligated to follow the laws of China— laws created by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). TikTok is an app that’s popular among Generation Z users. It’s the next wave of social media where anyone can create a short clip of themselves dancing to music or showing their cat. You can load up celebrities and see what they’re up to.