Fresh Revelations Raise Doubts On TikTok’s “Independence” From Beijing
In a fresh wave of disclosures made public this week, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has released new documents and recordings suggesting that TikTok, the wildly popular social media platform, operates under the tight oversight of its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.
The revelations include claims that TikTok executives must swear oaths to uphold China’s socialist system and report directly to China-based leadership. While TikTok has repeatedly denied that it shares user data with the Chinese Communist Party, these newly revealed materials have reignited the longstanding debate over the platform’s independence, national security, and the boundaries of free speech.
Amid these accusations, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week on a lawsuit brought by TikTok challenging a 2024 law signed by U.S. President Joe Biden, allowing the ban to proceed. The legislation mandates that ByteDance sell TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 19, 2025, or face an outright ban. The law passed through Congress on national security grounds, with lawmakers arguing that ByteDance’s reported ties to the CCP pose unacceptable risks related to the mass collection of user data.
“We are determined to protect our citizens from any vulnerabilities that might be exploited by foreign adversaries,” said Chief Justice John Roberts during oral arguments on January 10, according to court transcripts. TikTok’s legal team countered that the legislation violates First Amendment protections, asserting that any forced sale—or a ban—would unconstitutionally limit free speech for millions of American users.
The stakes in Washington have grown more complex with the upcoming inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20. “I want to save TikTok,” Trump said in remarks last week, striking a softer tone than his original stance on Chinese-based tech platforms. Yet Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, remains an outspoken critic of Chinese influence in U.S. markets.
Oaths And Structure
In documents reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation and now shared by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, former TikTok marketing executive Katie Puris alleges that she was forced to sign an oath pledging not to disrupt the “socialist system” or reveal “state secrets.” Puris, who joined TikTok in 2019, claims her day-to-day operations fell under the close guidance of Beijing-based ByteDance officials.
“TikTok’s supposed independence is a fraud, and ByteDance directly manages TikTok’s internal functions from China,” said Michigan Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, in a statement to the DCNF. TikTok spokespersons have dismissed these allegations as “falsehoods presented to advance political agendas.”
Recording transcripts cited in Puris’ employment discrimination lawsuit describe a “dual reporting structure” within TikTok, requiring executives to answer both to U.S.-based leadership and ByteDance in Beijing. One set of documents suggests TikTok executives were made to consent to ByteDance’s digital surveillance—even on personal electronic devices.
“From my perspective, the critical issue is not where TikTok’s user data is stored,” said Puris in an interview with the DCNF. “Rather, it is whether ByteDance retains ultimate control over TikTok’s employees and executives, and based on my experience at TikTok, that is the case.”
Public scrutiny of TikTok’s corporate structure is not new. As far back as October 2019, Rubio wrote a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department calling for an investigation into ByteDance’s acquisition of Musical.ly, a video-sharing startup that later merged into TikTok. He claimed the Chinese government and Communist Party could direct ByteDance to censor content deemed sensitive, setting the stage for continued legal and legislative challenges.
In March 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, denying that TikTok censors content on Beijing’s behalf or shares American user data with the Chinese government. Despite this, further revelations in mid-2023 indicated that TikTok had accessed the data of at least one U.S. journalist and continued storing some American user information on Chinese servers, prompting additional investigations by federal agencies.
“Multiple high-ranking current and former ByteDance and TikTok employees have also come forward alleging that TikTok tracks users’ private connections and has exploited backdoor tools to help the Chinese government target civil rights activists,” the House Select Committee on the CCP stated in its latest release.
Digital Trojan Horse
Prominent investors and analysts, including Kyle Bass, have seized on this newest set of disclosures to reinforce the argument of questioning ByteDance’s independence from CCP. “Hard evidence of the Chinese Communist Party running the greatest Digital Trojan Horse EVER,” Bass tweeted on January 14. “TikTok’s supposed independence is a complete fraud.”
Illinois Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has also reviewed the House Select Committee’s new trove of documents, sounded a note of bipartisan consensus. “The CCP controls ByteDance, and ByteDance and TikTok are one and the same. Full stop,” he told the DCNF.
Beyond the immediate legal battle, rumors persist that Elon Musk might attempt to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations should ByteDance be forced to sell. Sources cited in a Bloomberg report indicate that Beijing officials view Musk’s extensive business ties in China and high-profile status in the U.S. as advantageous for any potential deal. Musk has neither confirmed nor denied these overtures.
Musk publicly opposed banning TikTok in the U.S., describing it as a blow to free speech that would “benefit X” at the expense of open discourse. Yet the complexity of financing such a deal—analysts estimate TikTok’s U.S. operations could be worth up to $50 billion—raises doubts about Musk’s capacity to absorb another acquisition, especially after his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in 2022.
Debate continues over whether TikTok’s alleged ties to ByteDance endanger U.S. national security or if lawmakers’ actions reflect an overreach that compromises individual freedoms. ByteDance steadfastly insists it would rather shut down TikTok’s U.S. operations than sell under government coercion. Meanwhile, critics of TikTok point to China’s broad powers under its National Intelligence Law, which compels companies to assist with state intelligence-gathering operations.
“It’s about national security threats that emanate from ByteDance’s control of TikTok,” said Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. “These revelations are the latest evidence that TikTok is a vessel of its CCP-controlled parent company.”
Information for this story was found via Daily Caller News Foundation and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
