I think it’s a fair conclusion, and the conclusion is caveated saying more research is needed.

Conclusion: Substantial Differences in Hashtag Ratios Raise Concerns about TikTok’s Impartiality. Given the research above, we assess a strong possibility that content on TikTok is either amplified or suppressed based on its alignment with the interests of the Chinese Government. Future research should aim towards a more comprehensive analysis to determine the potential influence of TikTok on popular public narratives. This research should determine if and how TikTok might be utilized for furthering national/regional or international objectives of the Chinese Government. Should such research determine that TikTok users exhibit attitudes and assessments of world events aligned with the information distortions that we have discovered, democracies will need to consider appropriate counter-measures to better protect information integrity and mitigate potential real-world impacts.