Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Randall Schriver has expressed concerns regarding the operation of Chinese social media apps such as TikTok in the United States. He said that the U.S. should not permit these operations while China continues to ban American social media platforms. Schriver shared his views during a January 8 episode of the China Desk podcast.
"I think the discussion around social media is so interesting," said Schriver. "People talk about TikTok and the problems of backdoor technology and the like. Well, how about just the fact that our social media companies can't operate in China? That seems to me to be reason enough to, if not ban, at least put more scrutiny on Chinese social media."
According to Investopedia, the Chinese government banned platforms including Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) in 2009 as part of efforts to suppress communication among activists. This action is part of China's "Great Firewall," which employs censorship tools like keyword filtering and website blocking to limit online content accessible to Chinese citizens. Besides Facebook and X, other platforms such as Google, Yahoo, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube are also inaccessible to residents in China.
In March 2024, former Congressman Mike Gallagher introduced H.R. 7521, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Congress.gov reports that this legislation "prohibits distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary controlled application (e.g., TikTok)."
In April, NPR reported that former President Joe Biden signed the bill into law, stipulating that TikTok would be banned in the U.S. unless its parent company ByteDance, based in China, divests it. Despite security concerns about ByteDance's ties with the Chinese Communist Party, approximately 170 million Americans continue to use TikTok.
NBC reported that on January 17, the Supreme Court upheld this legislation resulting in a temporary disruption of TikTok services for American users. The app was restored on January 19 after President Donald Trump announced efforts to find a solution that avoids a permanent ban on TikTok in the U.S.
Schriver currently serves as Vice Chair of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) for its 2025 report cycle. According to USCC information, he is also Chairman of the Board at the Project 2049 Institute and sits on the Board of Directors for the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council.
