It’s been a busy week for President Donald Trump and his team. Even before he took the oath of office in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday, Trump pledged to hit the ground running and he did. Many of his supporters are cheered by his actions (even the symbolic ones) that could impact immigration, the federal workforce, international trade, climate change, workplace diversity and the death penalty. But there’s at least one where there’s justified bipartisan skepticism and dismay: Trump’s decision to pause the U.S. ban on TikTok for 75 days.

The digital platform impacts more than 120 million Americans. Think about that. No other entertainment instrument penetrates the homes of so many Americans than this social media app owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd. It is tempting to view TikTok as a pure parasite feeding on tens of millions of Americans every day, particularly on young people and their shortened attentions spans, screen addictions, exposure to cyberbullying and harmful content and on. No, what we worry about most is how President Trump appears to view the threat posed by TikTok narrowly in economic and not national security terms.

When Congress approved the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act last year setting in motion the ban (for ByteDance’s failure so far to divest), it was because the company is controlled by a foreign adversary (hence, the title of the bill). And while we can appreciate that the loss of the platform would pose a challenge for U.S. businesses that rely on it — The Baltimore Sun commonly uses such digital spaces to help inform our readers as do many other private companies — TikTok poses a serious national security threat. Every minute, data from Americans is mined, tracked and potentially available to be used against our nation’s interest.

We can’t afford to get TikTok wrong. China needs to be taken seriously as a foreign adversary. Nor should U.S. companies be taken off the hook for potential liability if they choose to carry TikTok. That’s not in the law and a get-out-of-a-lawsuit-free pass can’t just be conjured out of thin air by the Trump administration. Why deny states and private interests from protecting Americans from potential misuse of private data? Because TikTok is popular, especially among young people, who would become upset if the platform goes dark on their cellphones?

President Trump would do well to view TikTok in a singular way — as a threat to making America great again — and deal with it accordingly (and lawfully).