TikTok on Thursday pushed back against U.S. government arguments that the popular social media platform is not shielded by the First Amendment, comparing its platform to prominent American media organizations owned by foreign entities.
Last month, the Justice Department argued in a legal brief filed in a Washington federal appeals court that neither TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, nor the platform’s global and U.S. arms — TikTok Ltd. and TikTok Inc. — were entitled to First Amendment protections because they are “foreign organizations operating abroad” or owned by one.
TikTok attorneys have made the First Amendment a key part of their legal challenge to the federal law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to an approved buyer or face a ban.
I’m pretty ambivalent about the TikTok ban, but I will point out that TikTok is not allowed to be used inside China, which does kind of re-enforce the idea that it’s for pushing propaganda on the West.
It’s because of China’s censorship laws that are too strict for Tiktok, the same company offers a similar platforms that conforms with their laws. It doesn’t really exonerate it though.
I’m on the fence as well. Most social media is propaganda to an extent imo, Tiktok is definitely not the exception. It is also foreign owned and banning or restricting it makes a lot of sense.
But I’d rather more consumer protection and less wild west behavior in the data sector ultimately.
It kinda reinforces the idea that China and USA are both extremely authoritarian and narrowly control free speech.
I agree though I should point out there’s a bit of hyperbole to your statement. The United States does at least on the face of things allow Free Speech inside its borders. But largely only because they know those that disagree with them have no real power currently. And are no real threat.
Well except when all those students protested for Gaza.
Where has the US government done anything regarding them? There hasn’t even been a uniform response from University to university. And the ones in particular that you’re talking about look like they’re going to be facing some pretty decent fines and fuck around and find out repercussions. There’s already been one administrator that’s lost their position if I remember correctly. But that should only be the start. Still that’s not the US government.
They lost their position because they weren’t hard enough on students. Cops raided many universities, breaking up protests and arresting students. California is passing an anti protesting law. Congress literally called in University leaders for questioning the “anti semitism” on their campuses. The only reason universities did anything against the protests in the first place is because of the pro Israel position of the US government.
I agree! We should look to what is acceptable in China to learn what we should deem acceptable in the US. We should do this despite everything we know and have learned about China. Who needs to actually understand what young people like about the app anyway? We should just make sure only the oldest and most decrepit among us weigh in on this issue
Bring back the comics code authority! Don’t ever talk your kids about the media they consume! And for sure never learn from your history (granted, comics were an American thing, but Americans legit couldn’t simply ask their kids what theyr were reading about and basically still can’t)
/s (sorry I struggle with communication and sarcasm was easier)