Why banning TikTok is an idiotic move?

The hearing was held at the House of Representatives, where the CEO of TikTok was asked to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee. The lawmakers yelled at him, and the hearing became a spectacle where they talked about banning TikTok for four and a half hours. The momentum around banning TikTok is at an all-time high, and many TikTokers in DC are concerned about this. However, the hearing was possibly the worst faith Tech hearing ever held.

While some people favour the ban, others enjoy using Tick Tok and may be upset with its removal. Understanding the threat that Tick Tok poses and being transparent about it is crucial. Lawmakers must be clear about what user’s fear, ranging from blackmail to turning someone into a double agent. If lawmakers can clarify these issues, it would help further the privacy debate and put us light years ahead of where we currently stand.

More than 150 million American use the app, but the Nany state government want to control everything. Banning this app would be an idiotic move. The dangers of ticktock have been overstated. You can find offensive content on the platform, but not all dance videos. This type of content is everywhere. The move is hypocritical because the US government is pressuring American companies to have a say in this ban. Leading to a halt in freedom of speech. If Congress is so worried about the security threats and concerns, their house should be put on before everything. A TikTok ban can easily be weaponized. The restrict act empowers the commerce department to action specific actions against foreign threats. This is the Patriot Act 2.0. If more tools are given to the government to police TikTok, it will be used against all US citizens.

Only some people in Washington are on board with the idea that a ban on TikTok is a good idea. Senator Rand Paul recently denounced the idea of giving the Biden administration more power to control social media.

Here are three reasons the federal government banning TikTok is idiotic.

First, TikTok’s dangers have been overstated. It’s true; this platform has awful content, its not all dance videos, recipes and makeup guides. But there is bad stuff in all corners of the internet, not just on TikTok. Just because a website or app may be offensive to some doesn’t mean we can infringe on the First Amendment rights of millions. Even if its well-intentioned, censorship is censorship. When setting limits on social media use, we should leave it up to individuals, families, and schools — not the federal government.

TikTok is indeed unique in that the Chinese Communist Party can put pressure on the company in ways that can be harmful. To protect the CCP, it’s likely that TikTok mutes specific controversial topics and removes the accounts of dissidents.

Sadly, similar pressure was put on American social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter. Reporting has revealed that federal agencies like the FBI and DHS regularly ask Twitter to remove content the government doesn’t like. My report for Reason revealed that the White House and the CDC constantly pressured Facebook to restrict speech during the pandemic. If lawmakers were genuinely concerned about government shills controlling social media discourse, they should start by putting their house in order.

After all, it would be easy to weaponize against other companies any new law that gives the feds the power to ban TikTok. The Restrict Act empowers the Commerce Department to take action against foreign threats on social media and is co-sponsored by Republican Senator John Thune and Democratic Senator Mark Warner. However, legislators, national intelligence experts and mainstream media experts continue to accuse Facebook of allowing too much foreign misinformation on the platform. This is Patriot Act 2.0: They’ll use it against all Americans if they give the government more tools to monitor TikTok.