Washington’s Renewed Urgency for TikTok Ban Is Due to War on Gaza

The bill’s author said the platform’s videos about the Israeli war sparked renewed interest in passing the legislation

The renewed urgency to pass a bill to ban TikTok emerged due to Washington’s concerns about how its users were interacting with content regarding the Israeli war in Gaza. Many of TikTok’s users share pro-Palestinian messages far more frequently than pro-Israeli viewpoints.

The public debate between members of the House of Representatives centers around Chinese ownership of TikTok and the Chinese government’s level of influence over the platform. However, renewed interest in passing the legislation only materialized in Washington because many of TikTok’s users share content with an overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian message.

Glenn Greenwald drew attention to the issue on his nightly show, System Update. He explained that the TikTok ban bill made no progress over four years because of the app’s popularity among young Americans. Greenwald went on to report that members of Congress and Washington insiders on both sides of the aisle were spurred to act immediately by the platform’s overwhelming pro-Palestinian content.

On Wednesday, a majority of Democrats and Republicans in the House voted in favor of the bill. President Joe Biden said he would sign it if it reached his desk. The administration helped Congress craft some of the language in the bill.

Jacob Helberg, a member of a congressional research and advisory panel called the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, spoke with the Wall Street Journal about Congress’s recent change of attitude. Officials from TikTok said the bill regained momentum so quickly that it was caught off guard.

“It was slow going until Oct. 7. The attack that day in Israel by Hamas and the ensuing conflict in Gaza became a turning point in the push against TikTok,” Helberg said, according to WSJ.

🔗Source: Antiwar.com

Related: 3/16 — Ted Cruz wanted TikTok Banned Because it Promoted ‘Anti-Israel Propaganda’ - The Quiet Part Outloud

Mossand-Linked Steven Mnuchin Plans to Buy TikTok

So Uhhhh… Israel is Trying to Buy TikTok.

3/14 — 🇺🇸🇨🇳 Who Is REALLY behind the TikTok ban? (🇮🇱)

3/13 — House Votes To Force TikTok Owner ByteDance To Divest

Substack | Twitter | Minds

📡 Follow:
@G3News