Rick Lane

[Jon Schweppe 🇺🇸 @JonSchweppe]

Eight years in the making... 27 states later... we are now just a couple votes away from federal age verification! https://t.co/ENOHwrcM3X

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@JonSchweppe Great to see it on the agenda!

[Michael Sobolik @michaelsobolik]

Grateful to @FoxNews for featuring my concerns about TikTok and the Trump administration’s approach to China.

“President Trump just told the nation that China tried to influence the 2020 election and weaken his presidency. During that same year, the intelligence community identified TikTok as a primary vector of CCP influence in the United States,” @HudsonInstitute Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik, who specializes in U.S.–China relations, told Fox News Digital.

“Beijing still controls the algorithm, which means that the very dangers Trump raised persist today,” Sobolik added.

Trump has long taken a hard line on China, using tariffs, trade pressure and national security warnings to frame Beijing as one of America's chief adversaries.

In his recent address to the nation, the president accused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of running a “sinister” campaign to interfere in U.S. elections and influence Americans and undermine his presidency.

Yet just five days later, on July 21, Trump suggested “China is maybe a little bit different today.” It struck a softer tone that falls more in line with the president's backing of a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., despite seeking during his first term and at the start of his second to force the app out over national security concerns.

“The CCP hasn’t changed. Xi Jinping hasn’t changed. But President Trump has,” Sobolik detailed.

“He’s much more conciliatory toward China in his second term than he was in his first. He risks telegraphing significant weakness to Xi by letting China off the hook.”

[Ben Brody @BenBrodyDC]

Sen. Blackburn out with a piece in WaPo: “How a ‘duty of care’ law would protect kids online” https://t.co/pyTlAzZtwz

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@BenBrodyDC @MarshaBlackburn Excellent opinion piece!

Thank you for all you are doing to protect children from online harms!

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@BrendanCarrFCC How about banning federal devices from having the TikTok app? That would be a great start to protecting US national security.

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@ChinaSelect @RepMoolenaar @FCC A nice start would be the Administration enforcing the TikTok divestiture law.

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@ChinaSelect @RepMoolenaar They should have followed the TikTok/ByteDance strategy and created a “US company.” 😉

[Michael Sobolik @michaelsobolik]

My latest in @realDailyWire:

There is one thing that Trump could do immediately to buttress U.S. election integrity and regain the upper hand against Xi: revisit the TikTok deal.

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@michaelsobolik @realDailyWire According to the Pew Research Center, among young adults (18-29), TikTok is the leading news source, with 43% getting news there regularly

ByteDance controls the advertising backend of the TikTokUS business operations, that is where the power to influence lies.

[Lynn's Warriors @lynns_warriors]

07/18 Media Alert🚨#WarriorWeekend on @77WABCradio with @LionelMedia🎙️ America's children are facing a growing online safety crisis. Lynn's Warriors💙wants to know where is the sustained national public health campaign? Where is the comprehensive strategy? On "Another Side of Midnight" we're asking why HHS isn't treating online harms to children with the urgency they deserve. Today's children are tomorrow's leaders. Protect childhood. #LynnsWarriors #CommunityCreatesChange #ProtectKidsOnline #LynnsWarriors💙

[Rep. Riley M. Moore @RepRileyMoore]

If your kids are on TikTok, get them off it.

The Chinese Communist Party isn't just harvesting data—they're building detailed profiles on Americans.

Combined with the voting data China stole and our social media activity, that's a serious national security threat we must address NOW.

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@RepRileyMoore Exactly right.

It is why Congress passed the TikTok divestiture legislation. It is the combination of the data collection and the power of the Bytedance algorithm.

ByteDance still controls the backend of TikTok US advertising algorithm. That is where the real threat is.

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@michaelsobolik Insanity!

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

Exactly!

[Michael Sobolik @michaelsobolik]

Thanks to @PhelimKine of @politico for including my thoughts about President Trump’s speech about China and election influence.

“If the president really believes that China was so opposed to him that they tried to swing the election against him in his first term, why is he seeking stable great power relations with Xi Jinping right now?” said Michael Sobolik, a former national security staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “Why did he allow ByteDance to keep control of TikTok’s algorithm? Why is he selling high-end AI chips to China? Why is he revoking a Hong Kong emergency order?”

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@ChinaSelect @RepMoolenaar We could start with the Administration fulfilling the obligations of the TikTok divestiture law.

One of the CCPs most powerful technological tools to influence US citizens and elections.

[Select Committee on China @ChinaSelect]

Chairman @RepMoolenaar of the Select Committee on China made the following statement on newly declassified files revealing further efforts by the Chinese government to divide Americans and influence our elections:

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@LindseyGrahamSC Sen. Graham’s statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee back in 2023 sums up what our children continue to face online today.

I hope that Congress will finally listen to Sen. Graham’s wise words.

“We know what to do. Let’s go do it.”

https://t.co/z44kYOIB6c

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@LindseyGrahamSC A great online child safety champion!

[Rick Lane @ricklane22]

@ChinaSelect @AP @RepMoolenaar @WashWizards @Capitals Should add TikTok to that letter.