Congress is pushing a law to ban TikTok in the United States virtually. The social media app is known for being spyware for the Chinese government. The company has been bracing for some action from Washington, as demonstrated by the months of pro-TikTok ads, which include farmers and nuns claiming that this app is essential to their survival.
TikTok users staged what could be described as a digital insurrection, flooding Capitol Hill with phone calls and hurling death threats at lawmakers. Others threatened to commit suicide if TikTok were de-platformed. The tactic backfired, with the proposal cruising through the committee process and was passed overwhelmingly by the House on March 13:
The vote was 352-65, with one member, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), voting present. The bill now heads to the Senate.
“Communist China is America’s largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America’s economy and security," GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement after the vote.
"Today’s bipartisan vote demonstrates Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans, and signals our resolve to deter our enemies," he added.
The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act passed by the House would give TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, five months to sell the platform, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. If TikTok is not divested in this time frame, it would be illegal for app stores like Google and Apple or web hosting services to make it available for users to download.
Do we want to give the government this much power? Are we seeing the ghosts of Parler, which was a social media app that got de-platformed for political reasons? Yes, this is a national security issue. Still, the words of Ben Franklin seem to ring true here: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Given how unspooled liberals have become about First Amendment rights, it’s not shocking to suggest that in the future, apps that promote opinions the Left find disagreeable could be shut down. Harmeet Dhillon, an attorney who ran against Ronna McDaniel in 2023 for RNC chair, had a tweet that summarizes how we all feel about this topic:
Tiktok is gross. China is our enemy. The bill is overbroad. Be very suspicious of anything Nancy Pelosi supports. That is all.
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) March 13, 2024
A very narrow bill might be fine. But I bet it wouldn’t have the same support. That’s the tell.
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) March 14, 2024
On the latter part, it would seem many Republicans weren’t concerned, given that the vote was 352-65. I know you know this already, but for the folks who still cherish bipartisanship, it isn’t always good.
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