This whole thing shows the extent to which the powers that be consider social media not as some free-formed independent part of the economy, but rather as an es

This whole thing shows the extent to which the powers that be consider social media not as some free-formed independent part of the economy, but rather as an essential tool for surveillance, which is crucial to the intelligence infrastructure of the country. When you view it through that lens it becomes obvious why the U.S. government will not allow a foreign power to gain a major foothold in it with something like TikTok. Each of the major empires (US, China, Russia) will create their own walled ecosystems for harvesting and cataloging data about their populace, and will fiercely resist any attempts by the others to gain a purchase.