TikTok creators on Wednesday voiced outrage over proposed legislation that could scuttle the platform in the US, saying it defies common sense and financial wisdom.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or be banned over its alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.
“If it was really about all the things they were saying, then we would be having this conversation with [X owner] Elon Musk, who basically could change American politics at a whim,” TikTok creator Ariella Elm told reporters outside the White House.
File Photo: REUTERS
Elm, a self-described political activist, has about 287,000 followers on TikTok.
US President Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill into law if it came to his desk, but the bill must make it through the US Senate first.
“It’s a big possibility that it could be banned, which is crazy,” said fellow TikTok creator Nathan Espinoza, who uses the handle “beowulftiktok.”
“Lawmakers don’t understand how huge of an issue this is,” he said.
“My entire comment section of videos that I’ve posted about this topic are just flooded with an overwhelmingly negative response, where people are not happy with it at all,” he said.
TikTok has been adamant that the Chinese government does not pull its strings.
“A lot of these lawmakers are making it sound like it’s just full of Chinese propaganda or it’s full of messages from the Chinese Communist Party,” Espinoza said.
“But for me, it’s actually been the only social media where I’ve seen an even representation of all sides of politics,” he added.
TikTok plays a major role in the digital media industry and when it comes to marketing, particularly for small businesses, he said.
Millions of people from politicians to teenagers and entrepreneurs would feel the blow if TikTok was shut down in the US, said content creator Steven King, whose “btypep” account has 6.8 million followers.
“There is no sense of community on any other platform in comparison to what TikTok has created,” King said.
Espinoza, who recently turned 18 years old, also believes elected officials backing the bill would be in for a “big shock” when he and his TikTok-loving demographic express their ire at the ballot box.
“This is my first year voting and a lot of people my age are against this TikTok ban,” Espinoza said.
However, some TikTok users said they are open to legislation that could protect them as well as defend national security.
“The addiction aspect of it is something we don’t really talk about,” said Victor Pelatere, a 20-year-old Boston resident.
“The whole TikTok brain rot idea — massive dopamine spikes and no attention span — those kinds of things are good for banning,” he said.
Beijing blasted the move as Washington’s “bandit” mentality and vowed that it would “take all necessary measures” to protect the interests of its companies overseas.
“The US should truly respect the principles of a market economy and fair competition [and] stop unjustly suppressing foreign companies,” Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong (何亞東) told a news conference yesterday afternoon.
Washington should also “provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies to invest and operate in the US,” he said.
“China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
At a separate press briefing yesterday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said the vote “runs contrary to the principles of fair competition and international economic and trade rules.”
“If so-called reasons of national security can be used to arbitrarily suppress excellent companies from other countries, then there is no fairness and justice at all,” Wang said.
“When someone sees a good thing another person has and tries to take it for themselves, this is entirely the logic of a bandit,” he added.
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