By skyforbes 
In the fevered rhetoric pulsing through Congress, TikTok — once a platform for viral dances and comedic skits—has become a supposed existential threat to U.S. national security. Spurred on by claims of Chinese espionage and the specter of Communist infiltration, lawmakers are racing to ban or force the sale of the app with nearly unprecedented speed and bipartisan ferocity. But peel back the surface of patriotic speeches, and a more unsettling story emerges: this campaign is less about safeguarding data and more about clamping down on dissent, controlling narratives, and preserving power in an era of media upheaval.
The Official Story: Red Scare Redux
The U.S. government’s public case against TikTok is simple: the app, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, could serve as a tool for the Chinese Communist Party to spy on American citizens, harvest sensitive information, and manipulate public opinion. This claim, breathlessly repeated in congressional hearings and media narratives, has driven a series of increasingly aggressive moves—including threats to ban TikTok outright if it isn’t sold to a U.S. company.
Yet the evidence for direct Chinese state misuse is notably and particularly thin. The fact is that TikTok has made…