Chair of House CCP Committee Wants New Tiktok Algorithm

U.S. lawmaker Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) calls for the Tiktok algorithm to be re-written.

Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Rep. John Moolenaar speaks during an event in Washington on Feb. 11, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) said Thursday that he wants the recommendation technology that prompts content to users, or algorithm, used in Tiktok to be re-written.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said he’s waiting for a briefing from the White House after the latest details of the deal were announced in late September. That agreement was set to have Oracle monitor a copy of the algorithm for security and manage how Americans’ data is stored. He said that the deal is still very much a work in progress.

Any licensing arrangement of the algorithm with China-based ByteDance “raises serious concerns,” Moolenaar said. “Anytime you have the CCP with leverage over the algorithm, I think that’s a problem.”

He said he has spoken with technology experts who have reviewed the TikTok algorithm, and “about half of it they can’t figure out what is in there. I just believe you have to have a new algorithm,” said Moolenaar, speaking Thursday at the Hudson Institute on the state of U.S.-China relations.

Control of the algorithm has become a key sticking point in finalizing the deal.

U.S. law requires TikTok to be cut off from any “operational relationship” with ByteDance.

“We need to be very clear that we don’t want [Bytedance to have the] ability to control the algorithm,” said Moolenaar, who has said he would conduct full oversight of the agreement.

The chair of the Select Committee on the CCP said he wants everyone to be more aware that the CCP is not a benign influence. In the past, “we bought into the idea that China was going to be a reliable partner, and we just have to really re-examine that assumption,” he said.

Import Controls

With much talk of export controls on sensitive technology, Moolenaar suggested there is also a need for import controls on Chinese consumer goods. He highlighted the ubiquitous home wifi router TP-Link, and how it has saturated the market.

“If it was a normal trading relationship with a friendly nation, you’d say great, that’s a win-win. But with the surveillance capabilities [of China], these are just huge concerns,” said Moolenaar.

Last year, a House Committee on Homeland security investigation found unexplained communication devices inside Chinese cargo crane equipment used at American ports. The devices were not included in equipment specifications, and port officials didn’t know why they were there.  Moolenaar said the devices were used to see how much cargo the U.S. was moving in and out of ports.

“When you look at the surveillance state that exists in China ... they are trying to export [it] around the world,” said Moolenaar.  He cautioned that our dependence in other areas has made the U.S. vulnerable—especially in areas such as drones, AI infrastructure, and datacenter servers.

Restraint on American Investment in China

Moolenaar is also optimistic that legislation enforcing restrictions on U.S. investment in China will be finalized by the end of the year. He said there is a need to establish “clear guardrails” on what types of investments the U.S. government, Wall Street, or private pension funds can invest in.

He pointed out that a close review of taxpayer funded investments found that the U.S. Department of War and the Department of Energy were investing in research with clear benefits for the Chinese military and China’s defense industry.

“We need to continue to highlight and make visible the fact that, when you are putting American investor dollars investing in entities that partner with the Chinese military or the surveillance state, that is not a patriotic decision and we need to have clear guardrails on what is acceptable and what isn’t.”

He said legislators are working on a “do not invest list” and guidelines for investors.

Moolenaar said he is optimistic it will be completed by the end of the year.