One story that trended (e.g., on BlueSky) about TikTok’s day of shutdown and revival can be summarized thus: the intent to ban TikTok was a stunt cooked up by Republicans so that Trump could pretend to save it at the last minute. Thus, it was never about national security but was yet another grab of another platform for hard-right ideologues—and an opportunity for Trump and/or his friends to benefit financially.
I get why that seems rational, but it doesn’t quite square with the facts. Before describing those facts, however, let’s acknowledge and set aside a few assumptions based on emotion.
First, it is only natural for TikTok account holders to feel angry at the thought of losing a platform they enjoy or use for business or core communications. When something we like might be taken away as an act of law—let alone a forum used to express oneself or make a living, it feels like an unwarranted attack on one’s interests and civil rights. This remains the unresolved paradox of all social media platforms: that holding them accountable is perceived by one group or another as an abridgement of the rights of the platform users.
Second, Trump lying is a universal constant. He lies so often that it would be impossible for him not to contradict himself on a broad range of topics. Hence, the fact that he once said “ban TikTok,” then used TikTok for his own purposes, and then claimed to save TikTok is just his standard operating bullshit. “Biden tried to kill it, but I’m going to save it,” is one of a million sound bites or posts (amplified by asshats like Charlie Kirk) that have little to do with what happened or is likely about to happen.
Third, TikTok’s own messaging thanking Trump etc. cannot be taken at face value. The company is acting in its own interests, as any business would. Of course, it was pure theater when the site popped back on and thanked Trump for the 90-day stay of execution while they work out a “deal.” And naturally, many TikTok users will only be glad the platform is still running and either not care or necessarily believe why lawmakers acted in the first place.
The Real Story (most likely)
No later than early 2024, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress were provided security briefings on TikTok and its relationship to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), an adversary of the United States. Members of both parties were deeply concerned about what they learned, and thus, in early March, the House passed HR 7521 with a vote of 362 to 55. The bill had 54 co-sponsors—22 Democrats and 32 Republicans. After the bill was signed by President Biden, the law set a roughly ten-month deadline for TikTok to be sold to an entity without ties to the CCP to avoid being banned in the U.S.
So, the first point worth making is that if Trump & Co. orchestrated the TikTok law as a stunt, they did it with the cooperation of a lot of Democrats, including President Biden. Instead, it is more reasonable to assume (though admittedly difficult these days) that the TikTok bill was the result of bipartisan cooperation on a matter of national security. Notwithstanding political rhetoric by individual Members—let alone sniping from the edges by Trump—the law itself was well founded, and it is worth noting that the Republicans who supported the law could not be certain that Trump would be re-elected and, therefore, have the opportunity “rescue” TikTok, as alleged.
While I have no more inside information about those security briefings than any other observer, the most rational conclusion is that Congress had good reason to pass the TikTok law, which the Supreme Court—albeit at the 11th hour—unanimously held was not in fatal conflict with the First Amendment. This outcome, which I advocated in an earlier post, does not support the narrative that the ban was a stunt cooked up by Trump and loyal Republicans so that TikTok could be recruited along with Facebook, X, and Google as another social platform of the oligarchy.
Importantly, that narrative misses the point that just because people only lately discovered that Big Tech’s politics are oligarchical, that doesn’t make it news. The sight of Zuckerberg, Musk, Pichai, and Bezos on stage with a mad monarch like Trump was written into Silicon Valley’s Terms of Service a long time ago. TikTok is no different but for the fact that its other anti-democratic master happens to be the CCP.
What Now?
While I endorsed the rationale for the TikTok law, I am acutely aware that even if it were banned on the basis of adversarial foreign control, this would have been a remedy of closing the barn door long after the cows escaped, drowned in the lake, and the lake froze over. The adversarial effects of all social media on American democracy not only remain unaddressed, but Trump & Co. are direct beneficiaries of the kind of targeted propaganda social sites make possible. In other words, whether adversaries of American interests are foreign or domestic, mission accomplished. Chaos sown. You are here.
Just like the social platforms, Trump also disguises his personal interests as American interests, and whatever “deal” he makes to keep TikTok in the U.S. cannot be trusted. “America First,” is an Orwellian slogan—used to animate mean-spiritedness while advocating policy that directly undermines American interests, including national security. Regarding TikTok, then, there is no reason to believe that Trump & Co. give a rat’s ass whether the CCP remains tied to the platform unless that relationship is damaging to Trump & Co. personally—a group that now includes the lately recognized tech oligarchy.
Within that morass, competing narratives will continue to flow based on ideology and emotion—all feeding the social media beast while pretending to tame it. Whatever becomes of TikTok in the next three months, public perception is unlikely to match reality, which paradoxically proves both the utility and futility of the law that was designed to force its sale.
