alt Hacker NewsCambridge Analytica had zero effect on the 2016 elections. It was the mother of all nothingburgers. I encourage all who see this comment to dig into the truth of that case.
The huge difference is that while foreign adversaries run influence networks on other social media platforms (and are opposed and combatted by those platforms) TikTok (the platform itself) is controlled by the foreign adversary (the CCP).
It was more a proof of concept. If that could be done on a small scale, why not a large one?
And elections are decided by margins, pushing them even slightly has massive, irrevocable consequences.