TikTok is getting closer to being banned in the United States. The app is battling to prevent Congress from sending legislation that could potentially take it out of the game to President Joe Biden’s desk. The text has already received a half-sanction from the House of Representatives, and the Senate will define its fate this week. According to Tucker Carlson, legislators’ decisions could change the future of social networks.
The now-independent journalist posted on X (formerly Twitter) and pointed out that the White House held an informative session with legislators present to address the global risks of the application, regarded as a vehicle of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used to collect sensitive data.
“In a classified briefing this afternoon, attended by officials from the Biden Justice Department, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed that Elon committed ‘election interference’ in 2022 by ‘changing the algorithms on X to alter the results of the midterms that year,” he wrote.
In turn, Carlson pointed out that the case could determine the future of social networks. “Not coincidentally, the anti-TikTok legislation now being debated on the Hill would allow the federal government to force the sale of any social media platform that interferes in elections. Just so you know what’s coming in 2025,” he added.
In a classified briefing this afternoon, attended by officials from the Biden Justice Department, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed that Elon committed “election interference” in 2022 by “changing the algorithms” on X to alter the results of the midterms that year.
Not…
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 12, 2024
TikTok’s strategy to stay in the United States: convince senators that the application is a source of work
Dubbed the ‘Act to Protect Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries,’ it was introduced in a bipartisan framework by Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), members of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in the Lower House.
The company’s response arrived quickly and highlighted the impact it could have on small and medium-sized companies that use the social network to attract more customers.
“This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs,” TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek told The Hill.
After being approved in the Lower House, the bill recently arrived in the Senate, where the application hopes to convince its members to back down. Specifically, TikTok paid for several popular content creators to travel to Capitol Hill to explain why the app should remain available.
BREAKING: Major bipartisan coalition introduces legislation to prevent TikTok’s availability on U.S. app stores unless it severs ties with CCP-controlled ByteDance.
READ the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act👇 https://t.co/HGrJwQOGXC
— Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (@committeeonccp) March 5, 2024
“This is 100 percent of what we rely on to put food on our table to pay our bills,” said JT Laybourne, 39.
Shou Chew, the company’s CEO, is also expected to appear in Congress in the coming days.
Biden promised to sign the legislation into law
The president spoke about it on Friday afternoon with some reporters and confirmed the following: “If you approve it, I will sign it.”
What does the bill do against TikTok?
Specifically, it would prevent app stores or web hosting services from hosting apps controlled by ByteDance, including TikTok, unless the app severs ties with entities like ByteDance that are “subject to the control of a foreign adversary, as defined by Congress in Title 10.”
In turn, it would create a procedure for the president to designate certain applications as being under the control of a foreign adversary, under Title 10, and as posing a risk to national security. Precisely, these applications would face being taken off of app stores or web hosting services.
The legislation also has bipartisan support from the following members of Congress: Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Bob Latta (R-OH), Andre Carson (D-IN), Kevin Hern (R- OK), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Chip Roy (R-TX), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Shontell Brown (D-OH), Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).
TikTok and its influence on the midterm elections
As recently reported by the Intelligence Community, the Chinese regime used TikTok to influence the 2022 elections.
“China is demonstrating a greater degree of sophistication in its influence activity, including experimentation with generative AI. TikTok accounts run by a propaganda arm of China allegedly targeted candidates from both political parties during the US midterm election cycle in 2022,” the report explained.
Likewise, the report warns that China could also try to influence this year’s presidential elections in the United States. The report indicates that the Chinese regime’s strategy will be to divide American society. In that sense, he noted that Chinese officials have increased their capabilities to conduct covert influence operations and spread disinformation.
