There are times when Republicans and Democrats join votes to pass legislation in a bipartisan agreement on certain issues. In the latest such development, majority of both parties in the House voted to force China into giving up the ownership of the popular video platform TikTok or see the platform banned altogether in the United States. But is there more to this unusual bipartisan agreement and is it good for the conservative movement?
On Wednesday (March 13), the House passed the bill H.R.7521 dubbed as “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” introduced by Democrat Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin in a 352-65 vote. Among the opponents of the legislation are some staunch conservative names like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, Andy Biggs, and others. Commenting in support of the legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson said:
“It’s an important bipartisan measure to take on China, our largest geopolitical foe, which is actively undermining our economy and security.”
However, some very prominent and respected conservative voices in politics and media are criticizing such a ban on a social media platform as a precedent for censorship that would only favor the anti-conservative establishment. President Trump had disapproved of the move toward banning TikTok ahead of the House vote on the bill. On Friday (March 8), he posted on his social media platform Truth Social that the move would work to strengthen Facebook, which interfered in the 2020 presidential election:
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112058087970558736
Leading conservative voice in conservative media, Tucker Carlson called the move the “most far-reaching act of censorship in the history of the United States” on his show on Twitter/X and reminded that it was the same rationale they used to spy on Donald Trump in his first presidential election campaign.
Conservative Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky joined Carlson on the show to refute the mainstream claim that TikTok is owned by China. Paul said that since TikTok is not allowed in China itself, banning it here would mean that America is acting like China.
Candice Owens, another prominent conservative commentator, offered her take on the bill to potentially ban TikTok and said that she sees the military-industrial complex behind this move.
Some skeptics on social media see the legislation threatening TikTok as a bipartisan collusion to usurp the ownership of TikTok under the rationale of defense against a foreign adversary.
Just a day before the bill was approved by the House, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a House of Representatives intelligence committee that China could interfere in the 2024 election using TikTok. The allegations sound similar to the infamous Russia-collusion hoax that targeted President Trump’s campaign in 2016.
As the bill against TikTok ownership goes to the Senate for approval, Joe Biden has already pledged to sign it into law. The Western Journal reported last month that Biden joined TikTok to try gather some political support for his re-election campaign, and it didn’t go well. Allison Anton wrote:
In addition to trashing the pure cringe that is the TikTok account of an out-of-touch 81-year-old man, users are taking full advantage of the opportunity to rant about the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew, a Singaporean businessman, expressed disappointment over the congressional approval of the legislation H.R.7521 and said that such a ban would kill the livelihood of thousands of Americans. As cited in Russia Today (March 14), Chew said:
“You will take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators in small businesses. You will put more than 300,000 American jobs at risk.”