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April 30, 2024 - Ron Paul Liberty Report
03:34
Weekly Update --- TikTok Hypocrisy

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Time Text
Biden's TikTok Dilemma 00:02:19
Hello, everybody, and thank you for tuning in to the weekly report.
President Biden's campaign will continue using the popular social media site TikTok, even though the president supported a provision in the military aid bill he recently signed forcing TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok within 270 days.
If ByteDance does not sell TikTok within the required time, TikTok will be banned in the United States.
Biden's continued use of TikTok to reach the approximately 150 million Americans' TikTok users.
It's not the only example of hypocrisy from politicians who support the TikTok ban.
The TikTok ban was driven by claims that because ByteDance is a Chinese company, TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government and thus is helping the Chinese government collect data on American citizens.
However, the only tie ByteDance has to the Chinese government is via a Chinese government-controlled company that owns a small amount of stock in a separate ByteDance operation.
Furthermore, ByteDance stores its data in an American facility not accessible by the Chinese government.
Just days before passing the TikTok ban, the same Senate that is so concerned about TikTok's alleged violations of Americans' privacy passed the FISA Reauthorization Act.
This bill not only extended existing authorities for warrantless wiretapping and surveillance, it made it easier for government agencies to spy on American citizens.
It did this by requiring anyone with access to a targeted individual's electronic device to cooperate with intelligent agencies.
Supporters of banning TikTok also cited concerns over the site's content moderation policies.
These policies reportedly forbid posting embarrassing to the Chinese government, such as some related to the 1989 Tiananmen Square confrontation or the Free Tibet movement.
TikTok and the Liberty Movement 00:01:14
TikTok, the most social media platforms engaged in content moderation.
The TikTok ban was supported by Democrats, including President Biden, who have a history of encouraging some politicians who take sensible positions on U.S. intervention in Ukraine.
Another major reason banning TikTok has strong bipartisan support is that the site is being used by many young people to share information on the Israeli government's action in Gaza.
The head of the Anti-Defamation League was actually caught on tape complaining about the TikTok problem.
This use of TikTok made TikTok a target for the many politicians who think the First Amendment makes an exception for speech critical of Israel.
The silver lining in the TikTok ban is it's waking up more Americans, especially young Americans, to the threat the out-of-control welfare warfare surveillance state poses to their liberty and prosperity.
This provides a great opportunity to spread the ideas of liberty and grow the liberty movement.
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