Republican Senator Rand Paul blocks bid to ban TikTok in US | Al Jazeera:
March 30, 2023 - "US Senator Rand Paul has blocked a bid to fast-track a ban of TikTok, citing concerns about free speech and uneven treatment of social media companies. The app, which was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, has more than 150 million monthly users in the United States, mostly young people.... Republican Senator Josh Hawley had sought unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill....
"TikTok says it has spent more than $1.5bn on rigorous data security efforts and rejects spying allegations. Last week, its chief executive officer, Shou Zi Chew, appeared before Congress and faced tough questions about national security concerns over the app. At the hearing, Chew attempted to dispel concerns over TikTok’s ties to the Chinese government and its alleged inability to stem 'harmful' content. He also sought to portray the app as 'a place where people can be creative and curious' and said the company was taking actions that go beyond industry standards in terms of data protection and transparency....
"A small but growing number of Democrats and Republicans have raised concerns, citing free speech and other issues, and have objected to legislation targeting TikTok as overly broad.... On Friday, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a TikTok video had also opposed a ban, as do free-speech groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union."
Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/30/republican-senator-blocks-bid-to-ban-tiktok-in-us
‘Do we really want to emulate China?’: Rand Paul calls out GOP hypocrisy on proposed TikTok ban | Based Politics - Jack Hunter:
March 29, 2023 - "As many members of both parties seem to be in favor of a potential ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok in the United States, one prominent Republican senator is voicing his dissent. In an op-ed on Wednesday, Rand Paul said such a ban would not only be unconstitutional, but un-American and unpopular....
"The Republican senator noted the hypocrisy on the part of conservatives. 'The banning TikTok strategy also comes while the GOP simultaneously complains of liberal U.S. social media companies canceling and censoring conservatives,' Paul wrote in Louisville, Kentucky’s Courier-Journal. 'So, without a hint of irony, many of these same "conservatives" now agitate to ban a platform owned by an international group that includes several American investors.... So, on the one hand, Republicans complain about censorship, while with the other hand, these same Republicans advocate to censor social media apps that they worry are influenced by the Chinese.'
"Congressional members on both sides of the aisle have expressed worries about China’s government having access to U.S. data because TikTok is owned by a Chinese company. But Paul said implementing such a ban would actually make America more like authoritarian China. 'Before banning TikTok, these censors might want to discover that China’s government already bans TikTok. Hmmm ... do we really want to emulate China’s speech bans?' he asked.
"The libertarian-leaning senator questioned the constitutionality of such a ban. 'If you don’t like TikTok or Facebook or YouTube, don’t use them,' he wrote. 'But don’t think any interpretation of the Constitution gives you the right to ban them. The First Amendment isn’t really necessary to protect speech that everybody accepts. The First Amendment is precisely there to protect speech that might be unpopular or might be controversial. U.S. courts struck down the Trump Administration’s ban and, I believe, will strike down any Congressional ban'....
"Opposition to the TikTok ban has brought together staunch Right and Left who fear such legislation is merely a recipe for more government control on speech. Far-left ‘Squad’ members like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Jamaal Bowman have expressed their opposition as well.
The potential personal and political fallout of a TikTok ban | PBS Newshour, March 25, 2023:
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