The US House Energy and Commerce Committee advances a bill that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok, after TikTok's campaign reportedly enraged legislators

Semafor Signals — Insights from The New York Times, Financial Times, and CNN — The News

Semafor 2024-03-08 Mathias Hammer

Discussion

@daveleebbg Dave Lee on threads
All those child protection bills stuck in limbo and all it looks like Congress is going to do is ban every teen's favourite app
@olivia_beavers Olivia Beavers on x
A senior House Dem staffer says this is also having a backfire effect with their office, as they get lit up with TikTok-driven calls
@mattocko Matt Ocko on x
*fifty to ZERO* vote for bill to enforce #TikTok divestment from digital+physical fentanyl pushers of the PRC Nothing like a hostile nation mass-priming death threats against Congress through their pet psy-op app to underline the urgency of the threat
@ellenjdasilva Ellen DaSilva on x
Unpopular opinion but I am in favor of shutting down TikTok. I'm sure it won't happen (thank g we have freedom of speech) but TikTok is rotting our brains and is probably a form of spying. In the same way we should probably regulate junk food, there's no way it's good for us.
@broderick Ryan Broderick on x
I track US TikTok data month to month. The most viral videos on TikTok are almost completely apolitical and oftentimes literally the same videos trending on Facebook. As for the platform's subcultures, they're typically even more radically progressive than Tumblr's.
@autismcapital @autismcapital on x
TikTok might actually get banned. Based. Imagine the collective scream from the Zoomers. We may discover alien life. It will make it to space.
@samfbiddle Sam Biddle on x
Like so much else, a lot of the American TikTok freakout is pure projection
@katienotopoulos Katie Notopoulos on x
@broderick Yeah, but like, the tippy top most viral videos are always going to be anondyne stuff, right? Like on (old) Twitter, the most viral accounts would be like, @dory oer @voiceofgod or whatever but that doesn't mean Twitter very largely wasn't a place for political discuss…
@antgoldbloom Anthony Goldbloom on x
I wrote a piece in @TIME that makes a data-driven case for why TikTok needs to be sold or banned. https://time.com/... Lots of evidence that the CCP uses TikTok to advance its foreign policy goals. For example, topics like #UyghurGenocide and #HongKongProtest circulate far...
@rabois Keith Rabois on x
All the evidence you need to ban this app.
@binarybits Timothy B. Lee on x
As an outsider it seems like TikTok is amplifying left-wing anti-Biden views on both Israel/Palestine and the economy. Which would be a smart approach if they wanted to help Donald Trump get elected.
@eric_seufert Eric Seufert on x
$SNAP is up nearly 6% as the TikTok crackdown bill works its way through the House. https://www.reuters.com/...
@broderick Ryan Broderick on x
This was the most watched TikTok in the world last month. It's literally just a video of strawberries. The second most watched video? Another, different video of strawberries. [video]
@mattocko Matt Ocko on x
Great @TIME piece from @antgoldbloom , one of the preeminent big data analytics folks in the world, on the *hard data* behind the PRC's digital fentanyl weapon, TikTok and its China-controlled poisoning of American minds https://time.com/...
r/YesAmericaBad r on reddit
The American government is losing the propaganda war around Palestine, “House panel unanimously approves bill that could ban TikTok” - CNN
r/democrats r on reddit
I understand why republicans are pushing this, but why are the democrats supporting it too?
@gardiner_bryant@mastodon.online Gardiner Bryant on mastodon
The only problem with the anti-Tiktok bill is that it arbitrarily specifies “foreign” adversaries. Our politicians are mandated to protect the country from “all enemies, foreign and domestic.” — Tiktok is owned by an adversary of the US. But so is Microsoft, Meta, Google, Twi…
@teroterotero Tero Kuittinen on x
GOP does not comprehend the power of the geriatric TikTok voting block
@olivia_beavers Olivia Beavers on x
A 2nd GOP staffer said: “Most of the callers are unaware of why they're even calling, with several agreeing with the bill but calling to continue using the app.” This staffer predicted their office “will easily surpass 1,000 calls today.”
@benjysarlin Benjy Sarlin on x
Looks like the phone blitz isn't working so far
@olivia_beavers Olivia Beavers on x
And as some may expect with the younger generation calling on such matters... a third House GOP staffer said they are hearing from younger callers who say their names are along lines of: “Deez nuts” and “Mr. Bend Over.”
@cat_zakrzewski Cat Zakrzewski on x
Some Congressional offices had to shut off their phones today after TikTok sent messages urging people to “speak up” against legislation that would ban the app. Some offices were receiving up to 20 calls a minute. @viaCristiano and @drewharwell report: https://www.washingtonpost.…
@stluedke Steffen Lüdke on x
Suicide threats on day 1. Now imagine what it would look like if „TikTok" would ask people to do other things than calling politicians. Or if „TikTok" tweaks the algorithm for political reasons.
@amir Amir Efrati on x
Genuine question: Are elected U.S. reps allowed to “turn their phones off” because too many TikTok users are calling? https://www.theinformation.com/ ... [image]
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
Once again, the president of the united states, thinks it's a good idea to force ByteDance to sell TikTok's us operations. Or, at least, he thinks it's a good idea to say that. Can't imagine this ever going through. [image]
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Congressional offices are being flooded by phone calls from angry voters after TikTok sends a push notification saying it's at risk of being shutdown. Interestingly the bill in Congress is about it being sold by its Chinese owners not being shut down. https://www.axios.com/...
@luke_metro @luke_metro on x
calling my congressperson to tell them to ban TikTok even harder
@mchalfant16 Morgan Chalfant on x
Vote on bill to force ByteDance to divest TikTok passes House E&C committee UNANIMOUSLY, 50-0
@jwherrman John Herrman on x
welcome to the the era of democracy via un-dismissable app notification [image]
@olivia_beavers Olivia Beavers on x
“If you ban TikTok, I will kill myself,” said one caller, according to audio that a House GOP office shared with me. The caller had noted seeing TikTok's pop-up that claimed members are trying to shut down the app.
@zeffmax Max Zeff on x
TikTok sent this push notification to US users on Thursday morning. They're asking everyone to call their local congress member to stop a bill that could shut down the app. Read more here: https://gizmodo.com/... [image]
r/politics r on reddit
House panel unanimously approves bill that could ban TikTok
@drewharwell Drew Harwell on threads
This is a bit of a surprise. Trump, who tried and failed to ban TikTok in 2020, just said he doesn't want to get rid of it because that would help Facebook (and Mark “Zuckerschmuck").
@korvin.bsky.social @korvin.bsky.social on bluesky
Make China's wall Great again🇨🇳🤣
@stonehead.bsky.social @stonehead.bsky.social on bluesky
Context: On March 1, Trump got a bunch of money from formerly critical GOP mega-donor Jeff Yass, an investor in ByteDance, the company behind TikTok. — Less than a week later, he is now suddenly in favor of continued Chinese ownership of TikTok. — twitter.com/mattyglesias...
@randpaul Rand Paul on x
If Congress bans TikTok, they will be acting just like the Chinese communists who have also banned TikTok . . . Why not just defend the first amendment? [image]
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@RandPaul Trump's statement there is correct
@binarybits Timothy B. Lee on x
Trump got it right the first time. https://www.fullstackeconomics.com/ ...
@milhist_lee Wayne E. Lee on x
Most all politicians are owned by their donors. But some “politicians” are more owned than others.
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
On March 1, Trump got a bunch of money from formerly critical GOP mega-donor Jeff Yass, an investor in ByteDance. Less than a week later, he is now suddenly in favor of continued Chinese ownership of TikTok. [image]
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Trump's flip-flop on TikTok is beyond stunning. None of the underlying issues have changed. The biggest difference between his exec order and the legislation is that the EO was written amateurishly (thus proved unenforceable) and the bill has a better chance of having an impact.
r/real_China_irl r on reddit
川子司马了🤗 你川在truth上发帖反对TikTok ban 称只会有利于FB
@dead.place Flynn on bluesky
we live in such a normal world. you can tell because tech companies failing to come up with an addictive app is somehow a negative. [embedded post]
@homewithlu Lu Korte on x
Just another scare from the US because they are not first. Sounds like the same tune for WhatsApp, Xiaomi or Huawei... national security? @TikTok #socialmedia
@east_cap @east_cap on x
If you don't ban it, we'll kill it ourselves $META 🔥 Instagram app downloads grew +20% yoy in 2023 to 768m making it the most downloaded app in the world. TikTok grew +4% to 733mn over the same period. https://www.ft.com/... via @financialtimes
@tonytassell Tony Tassell on x
Instagram overtook TikTok in new app downloads last year after it copied its Chinese rival's success with short-form videos - @EleanorOlcott rpts https://www.ft.com/... [image]
@sineadbovell @sineadbovell on threads
When I opened the TikTok app today on my phone this is the message that appeared
@drewharwell Drew Harwell on threads
News on the TikTok call-your-congressperson prompt: * Some House offices have been getting 20 calls a minute and resorted to temporarily shutting off phones * TikTok spox to me: “You know what else is heavy-handed? Trampling on the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans…
@ianbremmer Ian Bremmer on threads
what users see when they open tiktok this morning (factcheck: false. almost no chance this bill passes congress)
@mattnavarra Matt Navarra on threads
Well played, TikTok 😆 U.S. Congress Flooded With Calls After TikTok Asks Users For Support Against Ban TikTok confirmed it has sent a pop-up message urging people to call Congress was distributed to users over the age of 18. Here's what it looks like: https://www.forbes.com/...
@LukaszOlejnik@mastodon.social Lukasz Olejnik on mastodon
How to provoke opposition, exert influence for political change, riots perhaps? By sending a notification to millions of people. It immediately pops up on everyone's screen. Some applications are trusted so the chance of influencing the user increases. — https://www.theverge…
@tiktokpolicy @tiktokpolicy on x
Our statement on the latest TikTok legislation: This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they …
@stevescalise Steve Scalise on x
🚨 The @HouseCommerce Committee just voted 50-0 to force TikTok to sever their ties with the Chinese Communist Party. I will bring this critical national security bill to the House floor for a vote next week.
@congressmanraja Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on x
In response to our bipartisan legislation, @tiktok_us today has launched a massive propaganda campaign, requiring users to call their representatives, and 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 labeling our legislation a “total ban” of TikTok. Let me set the record straight. (1/2)
@neerajka Neeraj K. Agrawal on x
tiktok should have sent that alert to users it knows are like 25+
@rebeccamkern Rebecca Kern on x
NEW - The White House is hosting its 2nd annual creator watch party w/ 30+ creators, including TikTok influencers. Interesting timing given it's the same day House E&C passed a bill to force TikTok to separate from its Beijing-based ByteDance owner, which the WH also backed.
@lulumeservey Lulu Cheng Meservey on x
The reason TikTok's strategy is backfiring is that they're not an American company. For a “homegrown” company, it can be powerful to (1) highlight your size, (2) flex your influence with users, (3) show how embedded you are in society, and (4) directly pressure legislators....
@cameronwilson @cameronwilson on x
the context of a potential US TikTok ban is pretty different to last time. TikTok's growth has slowed — maybe even reversed — whereas Meta is now doing better than ever with Facebook and Instagram (and that's before you even consider growing Threads) https://www.campaignasia.com/…
@zeffmax Max Zeff on x
TikTok sent a push notification to 150 million US users today asking them to call their local congressman. Why? To stop a total ban of TikTok. A bill making its way through Congress would ban the app altogether, or force the parent company ByteDance to divest. TikTok is doing...
@libsoftiktok @libsoftiktok on x
This is the homescreen of tiktok. A Chinese spyware app is forcing Americans to lobby Congress so they can continue to operate. Tiktok is digital fentanyl. It needs to be banned. [image]
@congressmanraja Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on x
1⃣ This is NOT a ban of TikTok. 2⃣ We want TikTok to remain available, under new ownership. 3⃣ Our priority is to make TikTok free from the CCP's influence to protect US consumers and small businesses. (2/2)
@jakesherman Jake Sherman on x
Needless to say, this is incredibly unusual. A massive L for TikTok.
@terronk Lee Edwards on x
Interesting response to the government accusing TikTok of manipulating American politics. They use the platform to drive political action via streamlined UX funnel and charged messaging.
@munster_gene Gene Munster on x
TikTok ban back on the table. A draft bill introduced to Congress to require Bytedance to divest TikTok or be shut down in the US in 5 months. We've been hearing talk of this ban for the last year and there's been no progress towards that end. This draft bill is noteworthy...
@mchalfant16 Morgan Chalfant on x
Top Dem on House E&C committee, who earlier expressed frustration the bill was so quickly brought to markup. He said in announcing his support that he takes concerns of US intel community “very seriously”
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
amazing to see this happen again and again re: tech co's using product to counter legislation Uber vs DeBlasion, FB vs Australia, others....
@antgoldbloom Anthony Goldbloom on x
Although TikTok is really making the case pretty effectively themselves. They currently have a message on their home screen misrepresenting the bill that Congress is considering. (The Congressional Bill says TikTok needs to be sold, so it is independent of its Chinese parent.... …
@james_t_quinn Jimmy Quinn on x
Let's be clear about what's happening here: ByteDance is a Beijing-based tech giant that hosts an internal Chinese Communist Party committee. It has signed agreements with Party propaganda organs and law enforcement. It has also entered into a partnership with the Chinese gover…
@zacharybasu Zach Basu on x
The flood of calls to Congress from angry TikTok users has been “so bad we turned phones off,” a senior Democratic aide told @AndrewSolender. https://www.axios.com/...
@byrnehobart Byrne Hobart on x
An app whose parent company has explicitly promised to prioritize the interests of the CCP is mobilizing users to change the outcome of the legislative process. Neat.
@ali_lev Alexandra S. Levine on x
New: Capitol Hill is being bombarded with calls from TikTokers who've opened the app to a message urging them to call Congress to stop it from banning TikTok. @CongressmanRaja called the blitz “a massive propaganda campaign.” Developing story in @Forbes:https://www.forbes.com/ ..…
@maxwelltani Max Tani on x
In my experience, TikTok has been much more important in massively shaping my opinions on the ten best things to do when you visit Japan and on the best new restaurants in Nolita that you HAVE to check out
@devin_vering Devin Vering on x
@Olivia_Beavers The irony of people on here saying TikTok should be banned because it's addictive, from an app (Twitter) which is also itself addictive. These apps are designed to keep your attention. Swiping to a new TikTok or refreshing your Twitter feed simulate pulling a slot…
@mattocko Matt Ocko on x
The govt of China using TikTok to conduct a zombie-army DDoS attack on Congress' phones is... ...exactly why Congress cannot permit TikTok to stay under PRC control
@roybahat Roy E. Bahat on x
Congress considering forcing a sale of TikTok, because it has propaganda influence on the American public. TikTok resists by... using its propaganda influence to activate the public on its behalf. This... seems to prove the point. TikTok is showing we have good reason to be wo…
r/neoliberal r on reddit
TikTok is urging users to call Congress about a looming ban
r/technology r on reddit
TikTok is urging users to call Congress about a looming ban

Chronicles

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee advances a bill that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok, after TikTok's campaign reportedly enraged legislators

Related Coverage

Discussion