The TikTok ban is an entire disregard for the rights and freedoms of the American individuals. The ban is NOT about nationwide safety, however reasonably, the ultimate try to forestall the individuals from connecting on an uncensored platform with out backdoor authorities censorship. The legislation in query goes past TikTok as the federal government will solely allow social platforms primarily based within the US, subsequently controlling the narrative and data the individuals can obtain.
It isn’t about privateness from the Chinese language authorities. TikTok isn’t even out there in mainland China as their model is closely censored. TikTok is a subsidiary of ByteDance, a personal firm that’s not owned by the Chinese language authorities. About 60% of the corporate is owned by institutional buyers, 20% is owned by the founder, and the opposite 20% is owned by workers. ByteDance has 5 board members and three of them are American. Their headquarters are in Singapore and Los Angeles, and so they have 7,000 workers within the US.
Congress has been unable to grasp that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is Singaporean and never a member of the Chinese language Communist Social gathering and even Chinese language. Unbelievable.
Over 170 million Individuals at the moment use TikTok. TikTok contributed $24.3 billion to the US economic system in 2023, with 2024 estimates coming in increased. Nearly all of that cash comes from 6 MILLION SMALL BUSINESSES that depend on TikTok to generate gross sales. These 7 million companies compose 20% of ALL BUSINESSES IN THE US.
Media retailers declare the Supreme Courtroom is strongly siding with Congress, however that’s merely not the case. The Supreme Courtroom questioned whether or not this new legislation would infringe on the First Modification. Authorities claims it’s about nationwide safety and information. But, Chinese language-owned on-line shops are allowed to function within the US, for instance, and so they compile person information. Sure shops like SHEIN accumulate person’s social media information as nicely. Attorneys for TikTok consider they’re being singled out as a result of the persons are posting content material on the app, subsequently, exercising their 1A rights.
(RFK mentioned the potential ban again in 2023. EVERY LIBERTY WE SURRENDER IS IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY)
Authorities claims that the Chinese language might affect the content material to affect the American individuals. In that case, the priority is actually the content material creation and never the information assortment.
It’s OK when the US authorities collects your information with out warning. Mark Zuckerberg has been lobbying to ban TikTok for years. He permitted the institution to make use of META/Fb as an enormous propaganda software to affect politics and the general narrative. The federal government was permitted to make use of his app to silence the individuals instantaneously.
It’s of no coincidence that the ban will happen in the future earlier than Donald Trump takes workplace. Trump had requested the Supreme Courtroom to carry off on the ruling till he had time to type issues out. Merely put, you can’t take away the circus earlier than the individuals can afford bread. Individuals can not afford primary dwelling necessities, and the federal government is prioritizing taking away one of many final types of free leisure and training that the individuals have left. Numerous readers of this weblog have despatched me movies over time of on-the-ground footage of occasions that the media fails to cowl. Individuals could converse freely on TikTok and that threatens the institution.
We aren’t so completely different from North Korea. Our authorities is taking excessive measures to censor our skill to attach with others and share info. The federal government tells us what’s actual and false. “Misinformation” is the knowledge that goes in opposition to the present narrative. We aren’t to query our leaders. The US market is barely a fraction of TikTok’s worldwide viewers and it will not be of their finest curiosity to promote. It additionally appears as if the present CEO would reasonably have his platform go darkish for US customers than enable Washington to make use of his platform as yet one more propaganda software.
