The horrific event that took place a few days ago in Nashville TN was yet another reminder that the U.S. is well on track for breaking its own record of annual school shootings. Since 2020, firearms have overtaken car accidents as the leading cause of death for children under 19. As expected, some are sticking to the die-hard refrain “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” while others insist on the non-starter proposal to ban assault weapons. And once everyone has said their “thoughts and prayers”, we go back to business as usual.
Meanwhile, a different kind of business - which also involves the safety and wellbeing of children - has been under intense fire (apparently, at least). For a variety of reasons, the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube have consistently made headlines and prompted congressional hearings in recent years. Last week, it was TikTok’s turn in the hot chair.
Shou Zi Chew, a native Singaporean in charge of running the company in the U.S., walked into the room to face questions from the House Energy & Commerce Committee, seemingly on a mission to put everyone’s mind at ease with respect to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ties. How did it go? Definitely not well for Mr. Chew, who failed to convince interrogators that his platform isn’t doing what it is accused of doing. And I would argue that it didn’t go well for our elected representatives either, who failed to show compelling evidence behind their accusations, while oftentimes exposing their own cluelessness about even the most basic aspects of the technology they are presumably attempting to regulate. Congresswoman Lori Trahan went as far as suggesting that TikTok should be held to higher standards than the rest of the industry. Translation: we will tolerate certain behaviors from other companies but not yours, Mr. Chew.
What is supposedly at play here is the outright ban of TikTok, after having operated in the country for 6 years (!). During this time, the app has become a dominant player in the social media space, with 150 million active users, which is almost half the population. Americans simply love TikTok!
But the first question that comes up for me is: WHY did it take the U.S. so long to wake up to the potential national security threat posed by TikTok and its parent company ByteDance? I mean, it’s not like no one brought up these concerns before, including several other countries. INDIA, for example, banned the app completely 3 years ago (!). In this sense, the infamous spy balloon is almost the perfect metaphor - we waited for the thing to travel over the entire continental U.S., from West to East, before finally shooting it down.
I spent some time watching the recordings from last Thursday, and much of the subsequent media commentary of what appeared to be a spiteful scolding rather than a fair hearing. Seriously, it was painful to watch on so many levels.
I’m not suggesting that TikTok doesn’t deserve the scrutiny, but given everything we know today about the nasty byproducts of social media in the U.S. and the world - such as helping instigate political violence (in some cases even genocide), selling users’ data to 3rd parties, corroding the minds and hearts of children (knowingly so!), colluding with intelligence agencies to censor critical information, shadow-banning (or de-platforming) people they dislike … you know, minor things like that - the inevitable hypothesis I have developed is that TikTok is being turned into the scapegoat - or sacrificial lamb, if you prefer - for the excesses of the entire industry, as well as the shortcomings of regulators themselves. With the added bonus that it offers them the perfect excuse to talk tough on China - for more than 5 hours straight - without any real commitment to taking serious action. Could there be any truth to this? Not sure.
And this brings me to the second question: WHY do American legislators (on both sides of the aisle!) feel suddenly so passionate about banning TikTok? Is it really about the wellbeing of kids? Is it really about safeguarding democratic principles? Is it really about national security? I find it a bit odd that the U.S. government will say to Twitter point-blank: don’t publish that; publish this instead. That it will say to Facebook: de-amplify these users; amplify these instead. That it will say to YouTube users: don’t trust this source (e.g. journalist, medical expert, law enforcement agent, etc.); trust my source instead. And then the message for TikTok is: your links to the Chinese government are unacceptable!
Could it be that deep down - go ahead, call me crazy - our elected representatives are actually rattled by the possibility that TikTok is the ONE platform operating on U.S. soil - and a very powerful one - that would be completely outside of their control?
Again, I am not here to defend TikTok. But it did strike me as interesting how explicit Mr. Chew was in his opening statement - and several times more after that - about precisely this point. Check out this clip:
Personally, I don’t care much about TikTok. I don’t use it and don’t intend to. But I’m concerned about the chain reaction of events if this matter is not handled with great diplomacy, foresight, AND within the parameters of our constitution. As a citizen, I would love to see that all social media platforms are properly regulated and at the same time operate FREE from government interference as it relates to the first amendment. I certainly don’t appreciate the CCP’s intrusion on Americans - to the extent that it can be proven - but on the other hand: what could be more intrusive than outlawing a tool that 150 million people have come to rely on for work, school, family, friendship and entertainment?
On the geopolitical front, there is no doubt that competition with China is about to get very intense, and America needs to decide by whose standards it wants to play the game. Will we opt for draconian measures that mimic those from regimes deemed objectionable, or can we take a step back and see which battles are truly worth fighting?
On the domestic front, it seems bizarre to me that such a powerful nation continues to find excuses to allow education standards to slip and 9-year olds to be brutally murdered in the classroom, while spinning its wheels around issues that are simply not on anyone’s list of priorities.