National security concerns over TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese government have put Gen Z’s favorite social media service in peril. Concerns that TikTok might collect U.S. citizens’ information have some justification. Congress was right to ban installation of the app on federally issued devices. Many experts believe that information manipulation, including censorship of user posts, is actually the greater threat TikTok poses. The algorithm the company uses to recommend posts to users is ostensibly content-neutral. But the code that achieves these aims can be opaque, and measuring outcomes can prove tricky.
