Many other platforms have been used for that for even longer, and none of them are in danger of being banned. I don't think this is the real reason, if there is even a singular reason.

I believe the singular reason is that TikTok is controlled by the CCP and they use it as a tool to further increase political and social division by manipulating the algorithm.

This is evidenced by the fact that ByteDance could've sold TikTok in the US for a huge amount of money to comply with the recent legislation, but the Chinese government won't allow the sale. They aren't interested in the money, which to me sounds like they only ever cared about the data and influence.

Side note: I used Perplexity to summarize the recent events to make sure I'm not totally talking out my butt :). Just a theory though, happy to be proven wrong!

First, they are american platforms, and already do a lot of filtering. It's not easy to ban an American platform either, and there is more leverage to twist their arm.

Second, how does your comment change the fact that there are multiple politicians on record saying this is why they are going after tik tok?