TikTok is a black box and so it is not really possible for people on the outside to know what it does behind the scenes. The lack of transparency and the ties to the CCP are indeed a national security threat to other countries. I recall reading analysis that showed very skewed representation of different keywords on TikTok compared to other platforms. I have trouble believing that this is actually organic and balanced. I think it is much more likely that it is a result of manipulation - how TikTok increases or reduces certain views. China has a tool that’s perfect to create political chaos in rival countries - I doubt they would pass up the opportunity to abuse it. I also find it suspicious that ByteDance would rather shut down TikTok than allow its sale (https://www.reuters.com/technology/bytedance-prefers-tiktok-...).

Let’s also not forget - China does not allow American social media to operate in their country. When trade is allowed, access to their market is highly controlled - for example Tesla being forced to use Baidu for mapping. TikTok can and should be banned on the grounds of this free trade issue, leaving aside privacy and national security problems.