This master thesis assesses the perception of the social media platform TikTok in the United States. By analyzing executive orders on the platform by the US-American presidents Donald Trump and Joseph Biden, the research showcases how TikTok is being linked to the People’s Republic of China and framed as a threat to the protection of US-American citizens’ data as well as national security across the two legislative periods. This is connected to the perception of China as the autocratic antagonist to the democratic United States which has spread to the digital realm and coined the fear of ‘tech-enhanced authoritarianism’.