(NewsNation) — The Home accredited a invoice Wednesday that will ban TikTok within the U.S. if Chinese language mother or father firm ByteDance doesn’t promote the social media app.
Cosponsor of the TikTok invoice and a member of the China Choose Committee, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., mentioned in a Wednesday interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” he voted to ban the app for youth psychological well being.
Auchincloss pushed again in opposition to recommendations the bipartisan invoice raises free speech issues. He argued that whereas free speech is protected, corporations don’t have a “constitutional proper” to have their content material amplified algorithmically to hundreds of thousands of viewers by an organization beholden to China.
“The First Modification gives for the liberty of speech. Any American can say no matter they need on political issues of the day — that’s sacrosanct,” Auchincloss mentioned. “However freedom of speech just isn’t freedom of attain.”
The Home handed laws Wednesday that will ban TikTok nationwide if ByteDance refuses to divest from the favored video-sharing app.
“I’ve dropped laws simply this week to carry all social media companies — Meta, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter — accountable for safeguarding our youth on-line. However once more, all these ones … are already topic to U.S. legislation. TikTok just isn’t. So this invoice is step one to bringing parity to how we regulate these social media companies,” Auchincloss mentioned.
Auchincloss, one of many youngest dad and mom in Congress, mentioned his main motivation was defending children’ psychological well being from social media’s “plundering.” He criticized platforms like TikTok, Instagram and others for profiting off extreme display time that leaves households “depressing.”
“Congress has bought to step up and maintain them accountable,” he mentioned. “We will’t do this, although, if TikTok solutions to China and never america Congress.”
