TikTok, DeepSeek: China's Data Trojan Horses

0:00On March 14th, a new book warns that popular apps TikTok and DeepSeek are secretly collecting massive amounts of data on Americans for the Chinese government. Author Winton Hall calls them Trojan Horses and is upcoming release, Cold Red, saying they track everything from key strokes and IP addresses, too. Browsing habits and even finger positions on screens, TikTok reaches about 150 million monthly users in the U.S., while DeepSeek has around 4 million. TikTok does pull insensitive info that could fuel espionage or influence operations. TikTok does the full band through a deal last year, where its Chinese parent company sold most of its stake to American investors for $14 billion, leaving by dance with under 20% ownership. DeepSeek made ways in early 2025 when it claimed to rival top U.S. AI models at low cost, sparking a huge market drop. Nvidia alone lost $590 billion in value in one day on January 27th.

1:01Millions downloaded the app quickly, handing over personal messages and documents, all stored in China. Lawmakers and officials have raised alarms over propaganda risks, with TikTok's algorithm able to push specific content and DeepSeek's censoring info to. Match Chinese Views, a Congressional report notes 55 espionage cases tied to China from 2021 to 2024. Some states now banned DeepSeek on government devices, and federal bills are in the works. While TikTok's new set of might ease some worries, experts like Hall argue the real fix is keeping these apps off U.S. phones from the start to protect, privacy and security.