TikTok banned

Sixteen public interest groups, including the ACLU, the Authors Guild and the Knight First Amendment Institute issued a letter to Congress last week, ...

Magistrate Judge Lauren Beeler granted a preliminary injunction against the restrictions, ruling that its users were likely to prevail on their claims that the ban was an overly broad response to the threat it was intended to address. But David Greene of Electronic Frontier Foundation told me that the government can’t entirely evade challengers’ First Amendment arguments by claiming that a TikTok ban only regulates commercial transactions, not speech. No one would argue that national security is not an important interest, of course, but TikTok, TikTok users and their supporters will likely assert that a wholesale ban is too blunt an instrument. District Judges Wendy Beetlestone of Philadelphia (in the TikTok users’ case) and Carl Nichols of Washington (in TikTok's own case) granted preliminary injunctions because Trump's orders ran afoul of a 1988 statute known as the Berman Amendment, which restricts the president’s authority to use emergency powers to ban the importation of information from foreign countries. But the Supreme Court has also held that the First Amendment does not preclude the government from shutting down a business that distributes information if that business is used for illicit activities. “The restrictions here do not trigger First Amendment scrutiny because they regulate only economic transactions based on national-security concerns,” DOJ asserted. “I’d push back on the idea of First Amendment implications. Congress is now considering legislation that, in effect, would loosen the Berman Amendment’s constraints, removing the statute as an obstacle for presidential action on TikTok. The federal judges overseeing both cases avoided a reckoning on First Amendment issues. That right, he said, extends to propaganda from a foreign government under the U.S. Postmaster General, which struck down a federal statute that required people who had been sent “communist political propaganda” to fill out a government form before they could receive the mail. users are both entitled to free speech protection under the First Amendment.

Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday opposed efforts in Congress to ban popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which is used by more than 150 ...

It gives broad powers to the executive branch, with few checks, and will be abused in every way you can imagine." Then President Donald Trump's attempts in 2020 to ban TikTok were blocked by U.S. We're going to be just like China and ban speech we're afraid of?" "It just doesn't feel right to me," she said. It is also not clear what a final bill to address TikTok might look like. "I think we should beware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties," Paul said on the Senate floor.

Push to block platform reflects rising distrust of China and limited understanding of tech world.

And psychologist Robert Epstein has [argued](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3eVkA8Nv0s) that Google’s search engine has manipulated voters in favor of Democratic candidates (albeit the quantitative significance is disputable). Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, beloved by millennials and Gen Z’ers, has already [come out against the ban](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/nyregion/aoc-tiktok-ban-video.html) (naturally, she took to TikTok to express her concerns). Those who downplay the devastating effect that a potential US ban could have on TikTok fail to understand the economics of social media. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has said that it would [oppose a forced sale](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/technology/biden-tiktok-options.html). American adults reportedly spend [an average of 56 minutes a day](https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/time-spent-on-tiktok) on the platform. [potential national-security threat](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/technology/tiktok-biden-pushes-sale.html) and wants its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform to a US-owned company or face a possible ban. If banning TikTok is about protecting American voters from spying and manipulation, he argued, then Congress should devise a plan that also addresses abuses on US-based platforms (all of whom are salivating at the prospect of their biggest competitor being shown the door). For example, China could rethink its own protectionist policies and allow US-owned tech companies to operate in the domestic market, but that would jeopardise the authorities’ iron grip on China’s information ecosystem. From the standpoint of domestic politics, there is a world of difference between the proposed TikTok ban and the [recent US ban](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63764450) on selling and importing communications and video equipment from Chinese manufacturers like Huawei. The Federal Trade Commission is currently considering a crackdown on big tech’s [Project Texas](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/tiktok-us-ban-china-project-texas-oracle/)” convincing Congress or Joe Biden seem slim. Over five hours of aggressive questioning, Chew – who is not Chinese, but Singaporean – did a magnificent job of defending his company’s Chinese ownership in the face of Congress’s limited understanding of the tech world.

More than a dozen governments in Europe, Canada, the US, and elsewhere have banned TikTok on government-issued devices because of concerns that China could ...

For schools that have become successful on the app, a potential banning of TikTok is unfortunate, not the least because so many students are on TikTok and not on other social media platforms. There is speculation that Instagram will be the likely beneficiary of TikTok’s audience and reach if TikTok faces further restrictions in the West or elsewhere, followed by YouTube. Whatever happens to TikTok, this is the time to lean into customer engagement and to invest in building brand loyalty on social media platforms. “For example, create a TikTok campaign that encourages customers to go to your website or link in bio to sign up for your email list. [how to leverage TikTok](https://monitor.icef.com/2021/05/why-the-viral-video-app-tiktok-needs-to-be-part-of-your-recruitment-strategy-this-year), and often with the help of [student social media ambassadors](https://monitor.icef.com/2022/07/too-many-social-channels-to-manage-maybe-your-students-can-help). “TikTok has untapped potential to reach new audiences that aren’t on other platforms. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew submitted to five hours of intense questioning last week by US Congress representatives and said that the company is committed to “firewalling US user data from all unwanted foreign access and to keeping content free from any manipulation from any government.” However, Mr. TikTok’s executives say they will spend US$1.5 billion on a data security plan called “Project Texas” that would create more separation between TikTok and ByteDance. More than two dozen states have banned the app on government devices, and many universities have blocked it from campus Wi-Fi networks (however, students can work around this by accessing TikTok using cellular data). “Lawmakers and regulators in the West have increasingly expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, may put sensitive user data, like location information, into the hands of the Chinese government. In the US, legislation around TikTok is currently happening at the state, rather than federal, level. TikTok allows users to create, watch, and share 15-second videos taken on mobile phones.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he plans to block a move by fellow Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) to pass a bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S., ...

But Hawley’s bill to ban TikTok has been countered by a bipartisan bill, led by Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) to pass a bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S., arguing the bill would limit free speech and emulate censorship from the Chinese government. “But don’t think any interpretation of the Constitution gives you the right to ban them.” [Senate](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/) [Healthcare](https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/) [Senate](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/) [Senate](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/) [See All](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/) [See all Hill.TV](https://thehill.com/hilltv) [See all Video](https://thehill.com/video) [Senate](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/) [House](https://thehill.com/homenews/house/) [Business](https://thehill.com/business/) [Campaign](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/) [See All](https://thehill.com) The push by Hawley to ban TikTok is the latest chapter in a debate about the future of the platform in Congress. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers last week about the platform’s data security practices, with a growing number of legislators seemingly coming out in favor of a ban of the app. Warner said earlier this week that the White House was in favor of he and Thune’s bill. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), that would give the Commerce Department the ability to regulate and ultimately ban foreign technologies such as TikTok. Officials have flagged concerns about the security of user data on the platform because TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is owned in part by a Chinese investor. Lawmakers have sounded the alarm that the potential relationship between TikTok and the Chinese government could pose security risks. Paul’s office said he planned to object to Hawley’s move to pass his “No TikTok on United States Devices Act” bill when the Missouri Senator tries to get the legislation passed by unanimous consent this week.

The two lone wolves of the Republican Senate conference faced off against each other Wednesday, as Sen. Josh Hawley attempted to fast track his bill to ban ...

“The problem with TikTok is that it’s a backdoor for the Chinese Communist Party.” Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, have worked for years on a data privacy law in attempt to limit how much information the social media giants can collect. That bill was later added to a larger, end-of-year spending bill that passed. On Wednesday, he attempted a legislative move typically used for non-controversial bills that would allow the bill to pass the Senate so long as no member objected. Much of Paul’s argument centered around the freedom of Americans to watch dance videos, which later prompted Sen. Josh Hawley attempted to fast track his bill to ban TikTok and was blocked by Sen.