On CNN's “AC360” broadcast Friday, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said China should not be allowed to dictate the algorithms on TikTok that determine what Gen Z sees on the app. “And Donald Trump himself understood that.” But by asking the Supreme Court for a stay so he can negotiate a solution, he is giving up his biggest influence over TikTok.
Auchincloss said [relevant remarks begin around 7:20] The content Gen Z is viewing is “mediated by algorithms controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.” Currently in China, its algorithms are showing educational content to Chinese children and limiting the amount of time they can spend on the platform. In the United States, American children are exposed to anti-Western, anti-American content that they keep scrolling through for hours. This undermines the ideological coherence of the next generation of Americans, allowing people to post what they like, but how that content gets to them is up to foreign adversaries. There are good reasons for us to argue that this is not what is dictated to us by. ”
She added: “President Trump saying he could negotiate a better deal on his own doesn't pass the common sense test. If you're negotiating with someone else, why accept your position? Why should we take away the most leverage we have over our opponents? The impending ban is a necessary step for all traders to get a better deal for the American people.”
“Allowing Gen Z to develop a sense of American society based on algorithms dictated by the Beijing Politburo is a really bad idea, and Donald Trump himself knew it,” Auchincloss said. concluded.
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