This seems like a bandaid, maybe the real national security is that US companies cannot build a product that can compete with TikTok.

I don't really agree with this line of thinking if you consider the addictive part of TikTok.

Imagine the US legalized and exported meth. All of a sudden, the US is "competing" because everyone is hooked on drugs. We had Opium wars in a somewhat similar vein as the social media wars.