TikTok ban is opposed by progressive lawmakers

As the battle to ban the popular video-sharing app TikTok in Washington heats up, progressive lawmakers are emerging as the fiercest defenders of the app on Capitol Hill.

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The so-called “Squad” – a group of left-leaning lawmakers – has expressed support for TikTok, and opposed banning it. They have taken on an even larger coalition of bipartisan lawmakers, including the Democratic Party, who remain opposed to its blocking in the United States.

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However, despite recognizing that TikTok poses a number of privacy concerns, the anti-TikTok ban crowd is advocating for a broader debate about social media and data privacy rather than focusing on the app alone, arguing that focusing solely on TikTok would not solve the problems at hand. It has also been brought to the attention of the members that free speech concerns exist as well as the practical and political advantages offered by this platform.

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“What I think you are seeing is the progressive caucus coming out, you know, one, on behalf of the First Amendment, and two, more importantly, that they want to do something across all social media platforms regarding the privacy of data”, says Rep. Last week, Mark Pocan, former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, spoke to Trade Algo in the Capitol.

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While he admitted that no formal discussion has taken place within the caucus, he added that support from within the caucus "just happens" to be widespread.

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In the last month, when a House committee, chaired by Rep. Shou Zi Chew, was holding a five-hour hearing on TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew, the campaign to ban the app reached a fever pitch. During the hearing, both Republicans and Democrats grilled him on a variety of issues, including national security, data privacy, misinformation dissemination, and the safety of children.

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Among lawmakers, there is a growing concern about the potential ramifications of TikTok's ownership by the Chinese company ByteDance, which has led to fears that the app may also be subject to Chinese laws regarding how it handles U.S. data. 

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Both chambers of Congress have introduced legislation that proposes either banning the application or giving the Biden administration the authority to do so should it deem it necessary. The fact is that a small but growing number of Democrats and at least one Republican - Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) - are pushing back against a ban on social media in the United States, setting the stage for a high-profile and high-stakes conflict.

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Social media should be the subject of a 'comprehensive conversation'

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TikTok's progressive defenders argue that the concerns posed by the app are no different from those posed by other social media companies, calling for the discussion regarding all internet platforms to be broadened and broader in scope.

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The use of misinformation tactics and practices by large social media companies has repeatedly been demonstrated to be harmful to data privacy, yet at no point has an outright ban on their platforms been considered before now," Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said in a statement. "I am concerned about the potential privacy and misinformation risks posed by TikTok, just as I am concerned about Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and other for-profit social media companies that sell their services for profit."

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In a press conference last month alongside TikTok creators at which he was joined by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), one of the first high-profile lawmakers to speak out in support of TikTok amid the campaign to ban it, Bowman expressed the same concerns.

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“As a TikTok user myself," Bowman said, "I think we should have a comprehensive discussion about the legislation we need, federal legislation, to make sure that people using social media platforms are safe, that their information is secure, and that their information is not being shared or sold to third parties,” he added.

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This argument, however, has come under some scrutiny in recent years. Trade Algo reported that Dale West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Center for Technology Innovation, said while other social media companies collect an extraordinary amount of data about their users, concerns about TikTok are higher because it is owned by a Chinese company, which raises more questions regarding TikTok's privacy practices.

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"As a matter of fact, West said of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, that they collect a lot of information about consumers, but what worries me most about TikTok is that it is owned by a Chinese company, so is there a risk that the information will be shared with the Chinese authorities?”

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“I don't think there is a lot of risk of that happening because Facebook doesn't operate in China," he added.

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Bans on TikTok are not perceived as addressing the real issues

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As legislators argue, banning TikTok will not help resolve the concern at hand, which is the question of how much data social media companies can collect about their users.

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“In my view, the right solution would not be to ban one company, but rather to prevent companies from acting in such an egregious way to harvest your personal information without actually allowing you to say no to it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) said.

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Her first video was posted on TikTok last month, in which she staked out her opposition to a ban on TikTok.

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The TikTok creators were contacted last month during a press conference. Pocan said that "in addition to TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other platforms, there is a real problem we need to address, and that includes TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms, about our data and our privacy and selling our data and spreading misinformation — but that isn’t the issue being addressed when people are advocating the banning of TikTok.”

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West, a fellow at Brookings, agreed with that sentiment and said that "banning a single app will not suffice to address the wide variety of privacy and security concerns this country is facing."

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Practical — and political — benefits of TikTok

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TikTok has also been cited by progressives when pushing against a ban on the service, as it offers practical and political benefits to users.

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Last month, Bowman, Pocan, and Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) held a press conference with TikTok creators to discuss how the app helped boost small businesses and bring communities together.

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"TikTok has a wide variety of meanings for a wide range of people," says Garcia, who describes himself as a "TikTok super-consumer." "Firstly, it's entertainment, it's fun, that's what it's all about."

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“Additionally, what needs to be considered are the benefits it has offered to small businesses, as well as the amount of revenue that it is actually bringing back into the system, for all of these content creators, for brands, for businesses across the country, and for the profiles, it is raising for folks who would not otherwise have a voice,” he added.

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The power TikTok possesses when it comes to speaking with voters is also recognized by lawmakers. The representative from Pennsylvania, Summer Lee, who is opposed to the ban on TikTok, called the app "an incredible organizing tactic," and former President Bush described the app as a "platform for organizing.".

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Speculation has suggested that Democrats may not be in favor of a TikTok ban for fear of losing the support of Generation Z voters, who helped the party perform significantly better than expected during last year's midterm elections. 

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Last week, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Florida) - who made history last year as the first Generation Z person ever elected to Congress - was asked about the idea and responded that "it's something to consider, but it does not drive his campaign."

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“Certainly there are real concerns about privacy and data, but those same concerns exist for all big tech, for all social media and I think it's very important that we take a close look at that,” he concluded.

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More information is sought by lawmakers

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The lawmakers who do not support the banning of TikTok have also stated that they want more information regarding this issue. Congress has not yet received a briefing on the app despite hearing about national security concerns about the app. This was noted by the lawmakers.

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"Whenever the United States proposes a very major move that might have an effect on the national security of the United States, one of the first things that happen is that Congress receives a classified briefing on the matter," Ocasio-Cortez said. In regards to the claims of national security risks regarding TikTok, "I can tell you that Congress has not been briefed on these allegations in a classified manner."

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"I was wondering why we would be proposing a ban regarding such a significant issue without having any knowledge of what is going on in this process. There is something about it that doesn't seem right to me," she said.

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In testimony last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray said TikTok "screams" of national security concerns, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he firmly believed the platform was a national security threat and should be dissolved in one way or another.

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Bush, on the other hand, stated that she was unaware of any evidence that supports such claims as of yet.

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“We have yet to receive a single briefing, classified or otherwise, from a member of Congress about the dangers that TikTok poses to national security, and at this point, I have not seen enough proof to justify a ban on TikTok nationwide,” she said in a statement.