Platforms regularly have major data leaks, and the unregulated data brokerage market is already a multi-hundred-billion-dollar industry
AUSTIN, Texas (Texas Insider Report) — There is a contagion of group think in Washington, DC. When one or two elected officials say something is true, suddenly, the rest of them do the same, regardless of reality. We are seeing this on full display when it comes to the debate over whether the government should ban TikTok.
While some say that TikTok poses a national security threat, thoughtful lawmakers would be smart to take a step back and examine what a government ban on an entertainment app used by 150 million Americans means for our personal freedoms. In Texas, we value freedom and personal security above all else.
While true that the Texas Legislature put forth a TikTok ban on state-owned devises, they refused to ban it outright. Texas State Representative Briscoe Cain in a tweet stated regarding the federal ban adding that, “It gives the federal government uncheck power to target and shut companies it doesn’t like. Congress needs to kill this bill.”Legislation banning TikTok for all Americans is wrong for many reasons. First, TikTok does not pose a national security risk. TikTok has gone to great lengths to ensure user data is secure, and it is exceeding its industry peers by a long shot in terms of data protection. TikTok does not collect more or different data than any other social media, and those do not have such robust protections in place. Other platforms like Facebook have regularly had major data leaks, and the unregulated data brokerage market is already a multi-hundred-billion-dollar industry. Banning TikTok may seem like action to lawmakers, but the reality is that the app is no different than any others on your phone.
Remember the COVID-19 lockdowns? This is just another attempt by the federal government to put our personal freedoms at serious risk by feds dictating what Americans can or cannot do, watch, or listen to. Politicians in Washington are trying to be “tough on China,” but are acting exactly like the Chinese government by trying to take away our constitutional right to free speech. A fair and free American internet is critical to our core values and Washington's ban on social media is counter to everything our country stands for.
Not to mention, scores of small businesses right here in Texas rely on TikTok for their marketing, including Tevin Hamilton, owner of Hamilton’s Woodworks. Tevin is an African-American veteran of the United States military and he says, “TikTok has been a blessing to market and grow my business.”
United States Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has been a voice of reason in this debate over government censorship, saying that:
“The 1st Amendment isn’t really necessary to protect speech that everybody accepts. The 1st Amendment is precisely there to protect speech that might be unpopular or might be controversial.”
Congress would be right to follow Senator Paul’s lead and stand up for the freedoms Texas values above all else. What might seem politically advantageous is not always right, and that is certainly the case when it comes to the government banning social media apps.
Now is not the time to go along with the DC crowd – its the time to stand up for the American values of personal freedoms and less government.
