The United States is teetering between two starkly different visions of American power, politics, and democratic governance. However, if there’s one thing that manages to unite Republicans and Democrats, it’s their fear of TikTok.
Admittedly, the status of the hit short-form video app, which 170 million Americans spend an average of nearly an hour of their day on, has long been precarious. Although the company is based in Los Angeles and Singapore, it remains a subsidiary of ByteDance, a Chinese technology company.
That, amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over control of the technology, had fueled bipartisan fears that the Chinese government could use the app to spy on American citizens and/or manipulate public opinion.
So on Wednesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved (352 – 65) a bill that prohibits app stores and Internet providers from distributing “apps controlled by foreign adversaries.” The goal is clear: to ban TikTok.
What came before
Pressure for such a move had intensified since TikTok’s CEO Su Zi Chiu testified before Congress in March 2023. However, according to the Economist, the proposal had gained momentum in recent months in part due to incidents of misinformation and anti-Semitic content in the app following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October and the start of the war in Gaza .
Meanwhile, a desperate attempt by TikTok to stop the bill backfired miserably: on March 6, it sent out a notice encouraging users to lobby Congress against the bill. This has led undecided members of Congress to believe that TikTok is actually trying to sway voters.
What exactly does the bill provide?
Essentially, ByteDance will have 165 days to divest from TikTok and thus sell the social media platform to a company not based in China. If that doesn’t happen, app stores, including the Apple App Store and Google Play, will be legally prohibited from providing TikTok or web hosting services to apps controlled by ByteDance.
Proponents of the bill argued that it is not a ban, as it gives ByteDance the opportunity to sell TikTok and thus keep it available in the US.
TikTok’s side, on the other hand, argued otherwise, saying it was unclear whether China would approve a sale or whether it could complete a sale within six months.
After all, as the AI race heats up, it’s doubtful that China would want to hand over TikTok’s data or smart algorithm to any American interests.
“This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban on TikTok in the United States,” the company said in the wake of the vote. “The government is trying to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free speech. This will hurt millions of businesses, deprive artists of an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.”
So, will TikTok be banned?
The fate of the bill that was passed – almost without any debate – is uncertain for the time being, as it has a long road ahead of it until it becomes law. Even though the president Joe Biden has confirmed that he will sign it, it must first be approved in the Senate, where a qualified majority (60 out of 100) is required. And while such a resounding vote in the House of Representatives may increase pressure on senators, it is still a measure clearly unpopular among the platform’s 170 million American users (more than half the country) and especially among young people — in an election season. .
Regardless, it’s unclear when that vote will take place, but TikTok is likely to increase its lobbying efforts, while CEO Chiu will attend Congress on Wednesday to speak with senators.
The Trump factor and the “hate” for Meta
THE donald trump, who as president almost succeeded in passing a similar subway in 2020, which was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court, has now changed his mind. In fact, on March 8 he “complained” that banning TikTok would benefit Meta, the social media giant (Facebook, Instagram) that has banished Trump from its platforms since his supporters stormed the Capitol in January of 2021.
Indeed, according to research by Kepios, a research firm, if Americans redirect the roughly 3 trillion minutes of attention they spent on TikTok last year to other apps they already have on their phones, Meta and Alphabet ( YouTube ) will come out the winners. of the battle – something Trump has made clear he would not want.
So possibly Senate Republicans will follow Trump’s cue — after all, he just “locked up” their party’s nomination for the presidential election in November. It is indicative that Lindsay Graham, a leading critic of TikTok but also a “fan” of Trump, said on March 10 that he was not sure what he would vote for.
But even if the bill ultimately passes the Senate, it is likely to face First Amendment and free speech hurdles that stalled similar Trump legislation in 2020.
How would a TikTok ban be enforced?
In the event that the Supreme Court also does not judge the law unconstitutional, the imposition of a ban would develop into a complicated process. The bill passed would penalize app stores that make TikTok available for download, but it would be particularly difficult to ban individual use from users who already have the app on their devices.
ISPs could also be forced to block IP addresses associated with TikTok, but such practices can easily be circumvented by using a VPN.
In short, to completely restrict access to TikTok, the US government would have to use methods used by authoritarian regimes in countries like Iran, China, and Russia, which structure their Internet in a way that makes restrictions content more easily applicable.
#ban #TikTok
