Ashton Kutcher says China can 'create a problem' via TikTok in the South China Sea
The 'Open Season' actor said he might bar his children from using social media
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ashton Kutcher has a strong opinion about China's influence via social media.
The 43-year-old actor recently appeared on the American Optimist YouTube channel and spoke about protecting children from various crimes on the internet.
During his discussion, Kutcher said that he sees "a massive regulatory battle on the horizon" for TikTok, a popular video-sharing social media platform, as it's powered by ByteDance, an internet technology company with headquarters in Beijing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"If I'm China and I want to create a problem in that area of the world – specifically a Naval problem in the South China Sea, I would probably want to utilize TikTok in order to influence the minds of Americans …" said the actor.
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Ashton Kutcher said that China could ultilize TikTok to ‘create a problem’ in the South China Sea. (Getty Images)
He noted that such social media platforms can be used to create "an anti-US propaganda, anti-Taiwanese propaganda effort" that could result in any "war from the United States extraordinarily unpopular."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think that most people believe that there is media manipulation happening and misinformation campaigns happening, just not through their sources," continued the "Ranch" actor. "I think that's wrong and I think we're about to face a reckoning in that particular domain and it's going to probably change what social media looks like in the future."
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Speaking as a "fervid American," Kutcher said that such campaigns are becoming "extraordinarily dangerous" for the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"My sense is that what social media is today is not what social media is going to be in five years," he added. "If the trendline continues on the path that it's on today, my kids will not be on social media. If the trendline pivots as I think it likely will, there's a change that I will allow them to use it."
Ashton Kutcher is currently married to Mila Kunis. (Getty Images)
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Kutcher noted that eventually, his children will make their own decisions, but that they will be "extraordinarily educated" about the situation when they make such decisions.
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The actor shares two children – Wyatt Isabelle, 6, and Dimitri Portwood, 4 – with his wife, fellow actress Mila Kunis.