The renewed urgency to pass a bill to ban TikTok emerged due to Washington’s concerns about how its users were interacting with content regarding the Israeli war in Gaza. Many of TikTok’s users share pro-Palestinian messages far more frequently than pro-Israeli viewpoints.
The public debate between members of the House of Representatives centers around Chinese ownership of TikTok and the Chinese government’s level of influence over the platform. However, renewed interest in passing the legislation only materialized in Washington because many of TikTok’s users share content with an overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian message.
Glenn Greenwald drew attention to the issue on his nightly show, System Update. He explained that the TikTok ban bill made no progress over four years because of the app’s popularity among young Americans. Greenwald went on to report that members of Congress and Washington insiders on both sides of the aisle were spurred to act immediately by the platform’s overwhelming pro-Palestinian content.
On Wednesday, a majority of Democrats and Republicans in the House voted in favor of the bill. President Joe Biden said he would sign it if it reached his desk. The administration helped Congress craft some of the language in the bill.
Jacob Helberg, a member of a congressional research and advisory panel called the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, spoke with the Wall Street Journal about Congress’s recent change of attitude. Officials from TikTok said the bill regained momentum so quickly that it was caught off guard.
“It was slow going until Oct. 7. The attack that day in Israel by Hamas and the ensuing conflict in Gaza became a turning point in the push against TikTok,” Helberg said, according to WSJ. “People who historically hadn’t taken a position on TikTok became concerned with how Israel was portrayed in the videos and what they saw as an increase in antisemitic content posted to the app.”
The bill’s author is Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), one of the most outspoken China hawks in Washington and the chair of the House subcommittee on China. He explained that the likelihood of the legislation becoming law has sharply increased because he and other members of the China committee believed the platform was exposing users to too much Pro-Palestinian content.
Proponents of the legislation argue that TikTok’s young users are manipulated by the Chinese government through the app. However, the pro-Palestinian viewpoint alarming members of Congress is widely shared among TikTok’s core demographic.
Around half of TikTok’s users and content creators are 18-34. Support for Tel Aviv and President Biden has been dropping among that demographic as Israel’s five-month slaughter in Gaza has killed over 31,000 Palestinians and caused a humanitarian nightmare. About half of voting Americans under 35 believe Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
It’s truly sick. Greenwald has done a good job highlighting motive behind it.
A good way to tell if someone is lying or telling the truth is what the federal government does to them. If they promote them, you can be sure they’re full of crap. If they try to ban or imprison them, they are probably on the level.
Anyone doesn’t think Israel and President Genocide Joe Aren’t conducting a Genocide must not look at the widespread destruction of peoples homes & large apartment buildings, or heard their comments that there are no innocents, that all of those families there ate NOT innocents but terrorists.
must not look at the widespread destruction of people
That’s the whole idea.
So, is antiwar.com next?
Klobuchar had her eyes on Rumble and substack first.
Not unless the mad censors figure out a way to designate the Randolph Bourne Institute as a “Foreign Adversary.”
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7521/text
Of course they may well think of a new bill that will take care of domestic operations engaged in wrongthink and wrongspeak. Where’s Justin when we need his savage humor?
Except it gives the president enormous power.
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1fb080ab-72c8-4c46-a9d1-ef2ccbf12da5_2708x1548.png
“Except it gives the president enormous power.”
Not over domestic entities (not controlled by “foreign adversaries”) it doesn’t. Antiwar.com is not controlled by a foreign adversary, although I’m sure there are plenty of mainstream thinkers who consider those libertarians kinda suspect. 😏
“Directly, indirectly, or by entity identified in clause”
It is vague enough for expansion. What if individuals from an “adversary” donate or if a website posts links or publishes video or content from same. You can argue it doesn’t cover these instances, but they can argue it does, if a threat to “national security”.
I hope not…! But, if there is one, I’d follow Dave and Jason wherever they go…!
Sure, why not silence all 30 readers! The simple truth is that antiwar readership is very small and thus not worth the effort.
On September 11, 2009 the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in favor of Antiwar.com and against the FBI in the landmark case of Garris v. FBI (known as Raimondo and
Garris v. FBI until Justin’s death), and the court ordered the FBI to destroy records it collected during its unlawful investigation of our editors.
You are correct. I’m should have been more accurate. I should have said “not worth the effort of the Congress”.
What you should do is take a flying fuck at a rolling donut , oh Enemy of the Site.
If you feel that way, why don’t you make it smaller?
Exactly. Tim’s a liar. And a boring one.
And yet you keep reading my posts. LOL.
LOL. I’m sure a terrorist supporter like you would love not to be challenged.
If you can find a quote of mine that remotely suggests that I support terrorism you are free to look for it. My profile is wide open. You, on the other hand, have been openly supporting Israel’s ongoing genocide from the start which makes you the supporter of terrorism, not me.
And I don’t consider you a “challenge”. I do consider you challenged though. I’ll leave it at that.
You support Hamas, thus you support terrorism.
Like I said, my profile is wide open. Go find a quote that says I support Hamas. You can’t. But anyone condemning Israel’s ongoing genocide must be a Hamas supporter. I’m starting to think you are Hasbara. No one can play dumb that well.
Yeah you will find the majority on the Daily Mail taking out of their asses , most of the comments on Anti War would get you banned on the Daily Mail they are all very touchy feely on the DM and don`t like being upset while eating their breakfast .
Mike Gallagher’s top campaign contributor in 2021-2022 was a group called “American Israel Public Affairs Cmte.” Gallagher got $ 44,300 from them.
I’d say “follow the money” but I think he already did.
Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he is building an investor group to acquire TikTok. Just a day after the House vote. Mnuchin is of course pro-Israel. Convenient.
Michael Tracey writes on Substack:
He writes that despite the turmoil in the House, the bill took only eight days to push through, so that people wouldn’t have time to react and stoke opposition.
Meanwhile, Ben Shapiro from the Daily Caller tweets that TikTok is a “Chinese-owned psyop” (only 20% is owned by the Chinese founders and the CEO is from Singapore), and saying that the ban is pushed through to prevent criticism of Israel is “an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory”.
How did the “federations” below know about the bill so they could immediately talk to their membership organizations and support it?
Information Liberation:
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt — who Ben Shapiro lionized to his audience as a hero in the wake of Oct 7 — was caught on leaked audio freaking out late last year about the “TikTok problem” with “Gen Z” overwhelmingly supporting Palestinians over Israelis.
Anything that can’t ultimately be controlled in some way they are opposed to. Hence the vehement opposition to Donald Trump. Although they’re now holding bogus legal charges over his head—-these have backfired spectacularly for them in terms of stopping Trump from winning the GOP nomination.
Too Little… Too Late…!
If Biden thinks the Ban would stop US youth voters to protest against him and turn around and vote for him, he is greatly mistaken…!
The interesting thing is the US youth think that Trump will do a better job at handling the Gaza war. They will be in for a big surprise. There will be no two state solution under Trump and Israel will annex more of the West Bank.
You’re incorrect. Anger by young is due to better expectations re: Biden, i.e., disappointment, not better expectations re: Trump.
It is a binary race. Two choices Biden or Trump. The young voters (1) don’t seem to understand that their anger toward Biden, improves Trump’s chance of winning. And (2) Trump is more pro Israel.
Last time around, my recollection is that there were six choices on my ballot in Florida, and I expect it to be somewhere between four and eight this time around.
I may be mistaken,,, But it seems most US voters vote for the candidate that has high poll number or has a good chance of winning versus the candidate choice of their own…!
Among the titans of soft drinks such as Pepsi and Coke, when was the last time you drank RC or Shasta Cola on a regular basis?
Right now all decent people are focused on stopping the slaughter of innocent children using US weapons in Gaza. Whether that hurts Biden or not is irrelevant.
Trump is worried about America—–not Israel or Palestine.
Trump has one concern. Trump.
More repression begets greater
resistance.
This is going to blow up in their faces. Currently the ban is polling at 35-31% against now.
What’s it going to be the morning that millions of Americans tap their screens for TikTok and see their favorite puppy snd kitten site gone.
This is a blunder. Keep up the good work, fascists.
Tik Tok ban !! hey WTF is a tik tok ? i don’t know, do you?
hey all yalls check this sh*t out = Ted Nugent was a freakin guitar hero when he was a child – – as compared to Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck & Jimi Hendrix at the same time – they were grown ass men but little Ted was still just a boy.
Ted Nugent might be an asshole today but once upon a time he actually was a cool guy
“Tooth, Fang and Claw” was one of my favorites when I was young. Especially the instrumental “Hibernation”. I was a big fan. Then the asshole started talking and now I like him as much as I like Dick Cheney.
The bill would give a potential future President Donald Trump “unprecedented powers to
censor and control the internet.” If that still doesn’t bother you, you’re either not worried about the election, or you’ve been overstating your fear of “dictatorial” Trump.
Matt Tiabbi Substack
Trump came out against the Tik Tok ban. Try to keep up.
It’s not always easy to keep up with who’s renting Trump this week or what policy flip-flops that might entail.
The answers at the moment seem to be “Jeffrey S. Yass” and “hands off TikTok,” but next week there may be bigger (or at least newer) campaign donors and different answers to questions.
Trump is his own campaign donor. That’s why he can put America and Americans first.
In 2016, he pretended he was self-financing, but wasn’t. In 2020 and this cycle, he doesn’t even bother to pretend.
And the next time he puts America and/or Americans first will be the first time.
Then it’s a double gift to Trump.
It assures his election AND will grant him dictatorial powers.
Trump was President for 4 years and he didn’t declare himself dictator and we had 4 years of peace.
It shouldn’t bother you. You support dictator, Putin.
At least they have TikTok.
It’d be funny if GenoJoe loses by the same margins as the TikToc disenfranchised.
From what i have read their are thousands of Americans making their living from TikTok i wonder what the response will be when they are no longer able to feed themselves or their families because the Israelis have thrown them on the scrap heap , make no mistake the Zionist invader occupiers of Palestine are behind this .
If this becomes law, they should take this to Supreme Court ASAP. Otherwise, first they came for Tik Tok, and I said nothing…..