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.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
As evening falls in Fiji’s capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defense against one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics. In the South Pacific nation — a popular tourist destination of just under a million people — more than 2,000 new HIV cases were recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024. The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis. “It’s spreading like wildfire,” said Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested. The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
Separatists in Alberta are preparing to submit a petition tomorrow that they said has enough signatures to force a referendum on independence for the oil-rich Canadian province. Polls indicate the pro-independence camp remains a minority among Alberta’s 5 million people, but has hit a historic high of roughly 30 percent. Alberta separatists are also closer than ever to forcing a referendum, riding momentum fueled by intensifying grievances over Ottawa’s control of the provincial oil industry. They have also undeniably gotten a boost from the return to power of US President Donald Trump. After launching a petition in January, Stay Free Alberta, the group
RSS