Does the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have the right to control what 170 million Americans see (or don’t see) on TikTok? According to the House of Representatives, the answer is a resounding no.in 352-65 votes, passed a bill forcing the Chinese Communist Party to sell TikTok. If the Chinese Communist Party refuses to sell TikTok, it will be banned.
The key question here is whether we can trust the Chinese Communist Party. Communist China has no private sector.Although there are technically “private companies” in China, these companies are not allowed under Chinese law in the same sense that Russia technically has “democratic elections.” must follow Order of the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese businessmen who criticize the Chinese Communist Party, such as tech icon Jack Ma, have a strange habit: “It’s disappearing”
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is a Chinese company. The Chinese Communist Party effectively controls TikTok.
So it’s not all that surprising to see stories about TikTok spy on journalists,or, TikTok employee “You see everything in China,” he says. TikTok has tried to position Project Texas as an answer to these concerns, but you can only trust Project Texas if you trust the Chinese Communist Party.Report on Project Texas Failure The Wall Street Journal article actually confirms that the Chinese Communist Party cannot be trusted.
Some have raised concerns about the First Amendment, but those are also beside the point. The Chinese Communist Party has a First Amendment right to create TikTok accounts, but more than 170 million Americans do not have a First Amendment right to control the content they see on TikTok.
according to report From the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, Congress has a history of passing laws restricting foreign ownership of mass communication media such as radio and broadcasting. It is no exaggeration to say that TikTok is also a mass communication medium.
Additionally, the TikTok bill only covers social media apps controlled by TikTok. foreign adversary China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc. Because the app is American-owned, it could not be used against Twitter.
Nevertheless, there are several American “interests” that oppose the TikTok bill. Republican megadonor Jeff Yass owns a $33 billion stake in TikTok. According to the New York Post, Yass “bullied” the congressman. threaten to withdraw funds If only they supported the TikTok bill.
Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has been one of the most vocal critics of the TikTok bill, but it’s also worth noting that Yas also said: donated $6 million Paul’s PAC in 2023 alone.Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy flip flop Days after calling it “digital fentanyl” on TikTok.His PAC is received $4.8 million From Jeff Yass.
Yas recently repaired his relationship with Donald Trump. Some have speculated that this may have influenced Trump’s apparent change in demeanor on TikTok a few days later. Trump meets with Yas; Trump tried to ban TikTok during his presidency.However, what should be noted is President Trump. Not sent Who would want someone to come to Washington to lobby against the TikTok bill? So he may just want to be seen as opposed to the bill, rather than actually wanting to repeal it.
Yasu too Vice-president The Cato Institute doctor and his Susquehanna Foundation donated $3 million to Cato in 2022, according to their report. Latest 990 form. A Cato scholar recently said, amazing claim “There is no convincing evidence that Chinese authorities have ever monitored U.S. data.” Journalists monitored by TikTok may wish to disagree.
When Sen. Paul’s staffer Ximena Barrett promoted this false claim of Cato, she said: Stealth edited and removed Her tweet after I criticized her for spreading obvious misinformation about a national security threat. To make matters worse, Mr. Barreto is the Director of Foreign Affairs on the Committee on Homeland Security.
And Yas isn’t the only billionaire with ties to China.Elon Musk too loudly oppose TikTok’s bill, but he has his own. Connection in China Via Tesla. When Bari Weiss confronted him about those entanglements, Musk became irritated and eventually said: “both sides” Genocide of Uighurs by China.
If Mr. Musk, who calls himself a champion of free speech, can’t speak freely about the Uyghur genocide for fear of what the Chinese Communist Party will do to Tesla, then it’s likely that the Chinese Communist Party has control over what more than 170 people have published. It would not be a good idea to do so. 1 million Americans watch TikTok.
Mike Wacker is a software engineer and technologist who previously served as a Congressional Technology Fellow. Follow @m_wacker on X.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.
