The most important aspect of the Trump administration's proposed TikTok deal with China is to make sure that Americans have control over it and that it is not manipulated by a foreign adversary, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Moolenaar, who is chair of the House Select Committee on China, explained on "Wake Up America" that it is encouraging that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump, and other top U.S. officials are "all engaged on making sure that we don't allow TikTok to continue to be a national security threat and a propaganda machine for the Chinese Communist Party."
Moolenaar said that he supports Bessent's statement that "the U.S. is not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app" and that the Trump administration is talking about "implementing a law that requires a divestiture so that American ownership or a like-minded country, rather than a foreign adversary, would be able to influence America in this way."
Moolenaar added: "It is really productive that they are having these negotiations, and my hope is they can get to a resolution that protects national security and makes sure that Americans control the algorithm that is so accessible, especially to young people, many of whom get their news from TikTok."
Moolenaar also spoke about a report his committee released last week exposing how American universities have inadvertently become pipelines for the CCP.
He said that "what we've realized" is that China uses its partnerships with U.S. universities "for dual use; they use it for domestic purposes, also for military purposes and, unfortunately, many of these collaborations have turned into U.S. taxpayer dollars — U.S. researchers partnering to help build the Chinese military-industrial complex."
Moolenaar insisted that "our committee has been driving a wedge between that. Many universities have discontinued these programs, and we're cutting off the funding that would benefit the Chinese military, and so, we are making progress, but Americans should be concerned."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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