Hence the "(theoretically)" hedge. The theory for how control is maintained has been well-established for at least three decades: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent

Nonetheless, this underlines the hypocrisy of punishing TikTok but not western corporations. By any standard (except for foreign control, which is of dubious merit when domestic control is equally harmful) Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc are equally of deserving of restriction as TikTok is.