- On Wednesday the United States Senate voted to ban popular social media platform TikTok. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law. Keep reading to find out more!
- TikTok ban bill passed
- Why is TikTok getting banned in the US
- What do Americans think of TikTok ban
- What did Edward Snowden do NSA
On Wednesday the United States Senate voted to ban popular social media platform TikTok. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law. Keep reading to find out more!
TikTok ban bill passed
On Wednesday the United States Senate voted to ban popular social media platform TikTok. First introduced in the House of Representatives by Mike Gallagher on March 5th, the Senate passed the ban by attaching it to an emergency supplemental bill that would provide $95 billion in foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
The bill labels TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance Ltd. a “foreign adversary controlled application” and that it must sell or divest its control of TikTok within 270 days of the bill’s enactment into law or be subject to a national ban.
Rep. Gallagher released the following statement after the passage of the House National Security Supplemental: pic.twitter.com/KKs7dOFjkl
— Rep. Gallagher Press Office (@RepGallagher) April 20, 2024
Gallagher, who is the chairman of the Select Committee on China, praised the passing of the bill that “defends” American interest domestically and abroad by protecting “Americans against the national security threat posed by Chinese Communist Party Control of TikTok,”
Later that same day, President Biden signed the ban into law.
Why is TikTok getting banned in the US
The ban comes amid concerns over the Chinese government potentially collecting data on American citizens.
TikTok, who many predict will challenge the ban in court, said “[The bill] would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans” and “devastate 7 million businesses,”
Several states previously tried banning the platform. In 2023 Montana’s courts blocked the state’s attempt to ban TikTok by ruling the law “oversteps state power and infringes on the constitutional rights of users,”
President Biden’s re-election campaign stated it would continue using TikTok.
What do Americans think of TikTok ban
With 170 million American users, TikTok is the 3rd most popular social media platform in the United States. The most recent polling on the TikTok ban shows a majority of Americans do not support banning the platform.
What did Edward Snowden do NSA
Famed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden how “[i]n the Old America, we grew up being taught that censors, speech police, book burners—these were symbols by which an un-free society was recognized,”
In the Old America, we grew up being taught that censors, speech police, book-burners—these were symbols by which an un-free society was recognized. https://t.co/5tNeuWakXk
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 22, 2024
In 2013, Snowden revealed to journalists the existence of a large-scale spying program created in the wake of the September 11 Attacks. Snowden released documents that showed the National Security Agency (NSA) collected information on millions of Americans without their knowledge or a warrant.
A U.S. court found in 2020 that the NSA spy program, which is still ongoing, was illegal and possibly unconstitutional.
As of April 2024, no one has been prosecuted concerning the NSA spy program. Snowden has lived in exile in Russia since 2013.
What do you think about the TikTok ban?
What are the biggest stories trending online today? Read the latest here
Published by HOLR Magazine.
Image Credit: @RepGallagher Twitter @Snowden Twitter
