Is time running out for TikTok? New bill would force TikTok to cut off China or face ban
USA TodayMar 01
US Lawmakers Again Push for TikTok Ban
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Image copyright: Drew Angerer/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
The US House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to approve a bill that would ban the social media app TikTok if its Chinese parent company ByteDance doesn't divest its stake in the platform.
Ahead of the committee vote, which House leadership said will now be brought to the entire chamber, TikTok sent a message to its 170M American users urging them to call their representatives in opposition to the bill. In response, some lawmakers said the tactic was proof of why the bill was necessary.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
US lawmakers used to be able to trust China, but recent events have made that impossible. As long as Americans have no idea what information Beijing is collecting, national security is at risk. This ban will protect users or force ByteDance to find a US owner for TikTok.
Pro-China narrative
This is nothing but a campaign tactic by lawmakers to increase China-based xenophobia ahead of the 2024 election. TikTok is nothing more than a useful tool for boosting business, teaching, and entertaining hundreds of millions of Americans, but US politicians are again putting their political gain over the wants of the people.
Narrative C
Like state bans of TikTok, this attempt to strip the app from Americans likely won't survive a First Amendment challenge. Instead of banning the app, the government should boost its privacy initiatives to protect users' data. The government should always be more interested in protecting privacy than limiting speech.
Narrative D
The free speech aspect of this debate goes far beyond the US-China issue. Banning TikTok — whose algorithm allows political information to spread much faster than any other platform — is a tactic that has already been used by governments to suppress dissent. Nepal, for instance, banned TikTok after people used the app to criticize a recent presidential pardon. No matter why the government does it, banning a popular digital platform sets a precedent for other apps to be banned when the elites no longer like the content it hosts.
