The Facts
Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on Wednesday requested that US District Judge Donald W. Molloy issue a preliminary injunction to stop Montana’s state ban of the platform, which is set to take effect Jan. 1.
Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the first-in-the-nation ban on the ByteDance-owned company in May based on the notion that the app could be used to access information on US citizens or push pro-PRC misinformation — accusations that TikTok denies.
The Spin
Narrative A
TikTok is a purveyor of indoctrinating content that tracks American data and phone activity, and it should be banned across the US. While the Chinese company targets American kids with insidious content, it shows more respectable videos to children within the PRC under orders from the Chinese government. A national US ban must be instituted as soon as possible to protect American interests and defend the country from the propaganda and reach of foreign adversaries.
Narrative B
Banning TikTok is clearly a violation of Americans’ right to expression. Not to mention, TikTok has become an important source of friendship and business partnerships that would’ve been impossible without the app. Taking away TikTok would be taking away Americans' livelihoods.
