TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is testifying before Congress today as the U.S. considers banning the popular social media platform or demanding that it be sold to an American company. Roll Call is reporting that lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee want to know if the Chinese government has been using the app to harvest data on Americans and will also have questions about child safety and the addictive features of TikTok. The site said that committee chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican, has accused TikTok of giving Beijing data on Americans. Chew was expected to tell the committee that TikTok has taken steps to address child safety, along with privacy and security issues.
TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and the CCP all know a gravy train when they see one, which is why TikTok rallied the troops to gather on Capitol Hill for support on Wednesday. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company even paid for the 20 TikTok stars’ travel and accommodations. A small investment, I’m sure. The Journal quoted college freshman Aidan Kohn-Murphy, who boasts 3,000 followers on the platform. He said, “TikTok is not a children’s dancing app. It is one of the most powerful tools that young people have to engage each other and to get civically involved.” He is also the founder of the group Gen-Z For Change.
Baedri Nichole, who owns a bakery in Columbus, Ohio, and had a smash hit on TikTok with her “hot cocoa bomb,” said she would find it hard to support a candidate who would “take away something that is so integral to the direction we’re going as a society.” Kenny Jary, an 81-year-old TikTok creator who goes by the handle “Patriotic Kenny” said that he uses the platform to raise money for mobility scooters for fellow veterans. Others talked about how the platform has helped them launch a business and have discussions on various issues.
Yes, engagement, civic involvement, raising money for scooters, and even cocoa bombs are all good things. But in addition to all of the “good things,” the app is by all indications streaming data from Americans. It has also continued to open doors for child exploitation and predation. That this information seems to be lost on these creators is odd, since it is not exactly news. The Verge, Forbes, Fight the New Drug, and Ars Technica have all reported on this phenomenon.
Influencers and stars were not the only ones supporting TikTok. Fox News notes that Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) has thus far been the only Democrat to support the platform and joined the protestors yesterday.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman: "Republicans ain't got no swag. That's why they want to ban TikTok." pic.twitter.com/pop3P1tLQG
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 22, 2023
One may reasonably assume that Bowman knows that TikTok appeals to a demographic that is likely to be easily swayed to voting progressive.
I am not on TikTok. I know people who are, and I have seen their feeds and watched them while they scrolled. After all, that is what we do in America — scroll. And I’ve seen personalities on other outlets do “reaction videos” to TikTok content. The content I have seen has been largely comprised of stupid stunts, lip-synching, and dancing or invective-laced left-wing screeds from people who look like they just finished their shifts at the Mos Eisley cantina. I am assuming that there is probably more on the platform than that.
I am reminded of an incident that happened during my very brief tenure as a firefighter. One of my jobs was to issue burn permits, which required an inspection of the burn pile in question. Now in rural Utah, people like to burn fields and garbage, both yard and household waste. My job was to make sure that the burn would be safe, that there was no household garbage or anything dangerous in the pile, and give the person instructions about how to keep the burn safe. After the inspection and the lecture, I would write up a permit.
On one inspection, a man had a burn pile that was right next to a large area of tall, dry grass. I told him that he either needed to move the pile or cut the grass since the fire would get into the grass, run up the hill, and get out of control. He replied that there was no problem since he didn’t own the property up the hill. I had to explain that should he burn his neighbor’s property, the local constabulary would take an interest in his activity and the words “criminal negligence” would probably figure into his future. As would a visit to the courts.
And that is America. Too many people have decided that they want what they want. And so long as they get what they think they want, there is no need to worry about the consequences to someone else, or even to themselves. By and large, these are the people who want us to stop using gas stoves and gas and diesel-powered vehicles to save the planet. These are the people who want us to boycott and divest anything to do with Israel over Palestine.
And yet, when it comes to their favorite platform, they seem to be willing to ignore the data harvesting, the dangers to children, and the involvement of a country known for its quest for world domination, rampant use of fossil fuels, and the oppression of its majority population and the Muslim Uyghurs. It has not crossed their minds that they might want to go in search of another platform. And to a certain degree, that mindset is understandable. It is not the first time in the history of the world that the sweet smell of a few good things has been used to mask the stench of evil.
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