What Is the TikTok Ban Really About?
The House of Representatives, which hardly ever passes anything quickly, was able to expedite (in just eight days after it was proposed) a bill that would effectively ban the social media platform TikTok, if it is not sold to American-allied investors. It is curious that the 352-65 vote was bipartisan in nature and had support from the National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and when that happens, you know that something is going on in regards to stripping Americans of their rights. From the Patriot Act to the National Defense Authorization Act, threatening our free speech and increasing unconstitutional surveillance become high priorities for our so-called elected leaders. Interestingly, a coalition of liberal and conservative representatives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Thomas Massie, voted against the bill and in favor of protecting free speech in this country.
The stated reason for wanting to eliminate TikTok is that its parent company, ByteDance, is a privately-held Chinese company headquartered in Beijing (though registered in the Cayman Islands), and because of that, many fear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may (emphasis on “may”) ask the company to hand over data on Americans that can then be used for intelligence purposes to counter the United States government (a charge that the CCP has denied, though that does not necessarily mean anything). Although 60% of the company is owned by non-Chinese investors, such as the Carlyle Group (American company), Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (American company), and SoftBank Group (Japanese company), 20% of it is owned by the Chinese founders (the remaining 20% is owned by employees, which include thousands of Americans).
However, because ByteDance is ultimately subject to Chinese law, including the 2017 National Intelligence Law and the 2014 Counter-Espionage Law, the company must “assist or cooperate with state intelligence work” and “may not refuse” intelligence collection for official investigations. There are concerns that the company is accessing Americans’ data (like other social media companies do), and therefore, the CCP would then be able to use it to its advantage. Additionally, the CCP has the ability to terminate business licenses, initiate tax investigations, own a “golden share” in companies (though this does not actually apply to operations outside of China, including TikTok), influence the content to further CCP agendas, and penalize companies that do not comply; but there has been zero evidence provided that would suggest that this is actually occurring in regard to TikTok (this is not to say that there is none, but in order for the government to be believed, that evidence would need to be provided).
CIA Director William Burns stated in 2022 that it was “troubling to see what the Chinese government could do to manipulate TikTok,” while FBI Director Christopher Wray said that this “gives them [China] the potential to leverage the app in ways that I think should concern us.” Of course, this “could do” or “potential” implies that there is nothing of substance that would suggest that the CCP is actually doing any of the things that it is being accused of by the intelligence community (the same intelligence community that falsely investigated Donald Trump for collusion with Russia and said that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian misinformation).
Even if China were stealing Americans’ data, how is this any different from Facebook, Google, or Amazon collecting our information and sharing it with other companies and the United States government (for all we know, these American companies could be sharing that information with China anyway)? We have already seen from the Twitter Files and the leaks provided by Edward Snowden that the United States government partners with these corporations to spy on and censor us. If you believe that China obtaining our private information is somehow worse than the United States government, which uses our data to conduct unconstitutional operations, having it, perhaps it is because you have become a product of the manufactured hawkish propaganda. Ideally, we would like no government to ever have access to any of our information, but in these times of lack of privacy, that is not practical, so why not have the ability to have people’s voices heard on as many platforms as possible?
Additionally, TikTok is based in Singapore and Los Angeles, not China (a distinction that Senator Tom Cotton could benefit in understanding), and the CEO, Shou Zi Chew (from Singapore), has vowed to protect Americans’ information from falling into the hands of the Chinese government by investing $1.5 billion into Project Texas in collaboration with Oracle (an American computing company). It has also sold the algorithm, source code, and content moderation ability to Oracle, and it is allowing the American company to be a gatekeeper to who has access to Americans’ data (having that information stored entirely within the United States means that if China were to obtain it, it would be because Oracle allowed it to happen). By taking these extra steps, it prevents the CCP and ByteDance from having access to American data or manipulating the narrative in favor of Chinese propaganda (it is currently deleting data from the pre-Oracle servers), but TikTok working to soften the national security concerns by segregating its operations in the United States has not satisfied the China war hawks, which are out in force trying to sabotage the process and outright ban the application and strip it away from the 170 million Americans who use it (what about the will of the people?).
Well, this law would not ban the platform, they will say. Of course, this is a disingenuous argument, being that ByteDance is a Chinese startup company (private company but still operating within China), and according to Chinese national security and trade laws, TikTok cannot be sold because doing so would put it “at odds with the principles of fair competition and international trade rules” (regardless of merit, this would be viewed by China as selling national security secrets to the United States). Since the hawks are aware that China would never allow ByteDance to divest part of its company (the company would also be unlikely to sell to an American investor since only roughly ten percent of all users worldwide are in the United States), this appears to be a way to ban TikTok in the United States by pushing blame on China instead of where it actually belongs: our elected representatives who would steal our rights. This is quite a manipulative move on the part of the establishment.
So, if TikTok has put into place safeguards to protect Americans from their national security concerns, the next logical question would be: why are there forces in the United States that want to eliminate the platform from free usage? Well, aside from the obvious violations of the First Amendment’s protection of free speech, business interests and control over us are important factors. For starters, this bill would allow the president (currently Joe Biden) to target any platform or online application or hosting service if it has any connections with “foreign adversaries” (such as Russia, China, North Korea, or Iran). All the president has to do is arbitrarily determine that a service presents “a significant threat to the national security of the United States,” and as Senator Rand Paul stated, this could include Fox News or Twitter. If Elon Musk, for example, failed to comply with material takedown requests from the intelligence community (to censor unfavorable content of Joe Biden or COVID-19 responses), this would allow the president to classify Twitter as a threat to national security with ties to a foreign actor and ban Musk’s platform as well (maybe Tesla car manufacturing has too close of ties with China). This bill would greatly expand the power of the executive branch and allow for a mob-style rule to bully companies into compliance with government standards (a violation of the Constitution).
In fact, the United States government wants to strip the current owners of their property rights (recall that only 20% of ByteDance is owned by its Chinese founders) by compelling them to hand over part of their business to American interests. Recall that the Fifth Amendment prohibits the government from taking property without due process, and forcing the company to sell its subsidiary is clearly unconstitutional, but having American money and control are part of the agenda (recall from my article on the Dominican Republic or works other topics that the government will push agendas, topple foreign governments, or exploit weaker entities in order to have financial control).
As former President Donald Trump said, “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business.” In fact, top competitors of TikTok have huge lobbying operations in Congress, and Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) alone has spent roughly $20 million annually since 2020 to persuade our legislature to do its bidding. Alphabet Inc. (parent company of Google and YouTube) and Amazon spent $13.18 million and $21.38 million in 2022 (2023 numbers are incomplete at this time), respectively. Additionally, Facebook was one of the corporations having a close relationship with the government in the censorship machine that was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election, as revealed in the Twitter and Facebook Files. Meta also contributes heavily to the political campaigns to sway our representatives’ votes (particularly Democratic candidates). There is clearly a fascist partnership between Facebook (and other corporations) and the United States government, and this seems like an effort to eliminate the competition and allow consolidation of the online social space.
But, the government eliminating the competition of favorable corporations or banning free speech platforms is not the full picture. We have to delve a little into who would be taking control of TikTok if ByteDance were to sell its subsidiary. Currently, names like Kevin O’Leary (famous for starring in “Shark Tank”) and Bobby Kotick (Activision CEO) are being thrown around, but the most interesting prospect would be former Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin, who owns Liberty Strategic Capital. Currently, the former Trump advisor is gathering a band of merry men to capture this business venture, should the government be successful in manipulating the not-so-free market in his favor. What is interesting about this is the fact that Mnuchin’s past business attempts have included recruiting former Director of Israeli Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (Mossad) Yossi Cohen and partnering with Israeli startup company Cybereason (executives of which have connections to the intelligence division of the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF). Mnuchin was even added to Cybereason’s board of directors at one time and has invested, through Liberty Strategic Capital, in that company (to the tune of $275 million).
Why is the Israeli connection important? As many will be aware, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other Israeli groups have a tremendous amount of lobbying power in the United States, to the extent that some will suggest that the Israeli government owns American politicians from both parties (donations and propaganda through corporate media make it so that almost all Americans defend the Israeli government’s policies without fail, even as that government commits genocide against the Palestinians). What would happen if the special arrangement between the United States and Israeli governments became soured or weakened?
Well, TikTok threatens this relationship and has challenged Joe Biden’s traditional unconditional support for Israel, as pro-Palestinian content is viewed many times higher than pro-Israeli videos (it is not because TikTok causes Americans to become antisemitic, as Nikki Haley has suggested, and it is a matter of observation and seeing the atrocities firsthand or having it explained by creators in a way that makes sense). The Biden administration is losing its grip on the younger generation, which has largely challenged the actions of the Israeli government, and is potentially facing a loss of Democratic voters because many no longer believe that supporting genocide is the correct course of action (it is about damn time).
In typical fashion, the establishment, war hawks, and the Israeli government are looking to preserve the status quo and quell this online rebellion against the Benjamin Netanyahu regime (American interests purchasing TikTok would assist in this aim). Just like the 2020 election was rigged by the FBI and others, this year looks to be more of the same. Biden is the establishment candidate, and the powers that be appear to not want him to lose, so what is better than prohibiting anti-Biden sentiment and banning an application that promotes such a thing (though Trump largely did nothing to stop the “swamp” in his four years as president, so maybe he is acting and is deep down in league with the “swamp creatures”)?
The truth of the matter is that the government does not want people talking to each other and spreading anti-government ideas and educational videos outlining atrocities committed (actual journalism outside of the corporate media is frowned upon in society). It is not just about Israel, though, as TikTok gives a voice to many “conspiracy theory” topics and exposes corruption in government. Since TikTok is not controlled completely by American interests (though it is partially), the algorithms are mostly left free to operate in a manner that is beneficial to the people. This is threatening to the establishment, so the United States government is looking to end this freedom of expression and speech and be able to control it to the benefit of monied and powered interests. Ensuring that Americans stay in the dark on many crucial topics, while having the illusion of freedom, is key to the modern-day version of totalitarianism. TikTok in its current form poses a threat to the American Empire’s modus operandi, and banning the platform would be no better than what the Chinese government does in regard to censorship. As the bill heads to the Senate for a final vote (President Biden, of course, has already vowed to sign it), we should remember the famous quote from Benjamin Franklin:
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.