Don't Mess With TikTok

Mr. Westerman:

You and I have had conversations in the past regarding veteran affairs, but right now I would like to bring your attention to a personal concern; regarding the TikTok platform.

Millions of Americans enjoy a somewhat free space to express their individuality without the blanket of censorship provided by Mark Zuckerberg and his army of electronic puppets. While I agree that the algorithm isn't perfect, TikTok has been an outlet for millions throughout the pandemic and beyond. I have gotten to know people across the globe who share common goals and interests, and have been given a voice in places where I never imagined. The unapologetic nerve of that witch hunt and public humiliation of the CEO was unforgivable. He was not even allowed to complete his answer before some technologically ignorant politician removed his voice for him. Is that what our nation is reduced to; removing someone's voice so they cannot exercise any amendment rights? Are we so socially devolved that we refuse to lend reasonable doubt to our own inherent paranoia and allow those who have knowledge explain what we obviously bring into question?

I am ashamed of our government for the way they treated Shou Zi Chew. I am absolutely mortified at the blatant rudeness and hostility shown this man in the studio of one of our most hallowed buildings. It's no wonder America has become an internet meme and a laughing stock of the rest of the civilized world; our "leaders" cannot even show common courtesy to a visiting Singaporean businessman who took the time to explain the basic function of his app.

I do not personally monetize from TikTok. My platform isn't one that would benefit from any kind of online sales, but it is a place where I express my thoughts and share my ideas and have 15,000 followers who view, endorse and encourage me on a regular basis. My mother passed last Thursday and the outpouring of genuine love I've felt from the other members of this platform has rivaled any other time in my life when I needed support. The very idea that Congress is even roughly considering removing our access to TikTok is an affront to the American way of life! We are divided, but TikTok helps bring us together. We are enemies, but TikTok gives us a place to come together and talk out our problems, by video if necessary, until we understand each other better. We are strangers, but TikTok lets us see each other's faces and become acquainted; even from halfway around the world.

I want an absolute end put to Facebook and Meta. I personally feel they are behind this attack on TikTok and have become greedy, politically infested and are no longer a safe space for people to share their ideas. Mark Zuckerberg had an idea and that idea allowed him to fly too close to the sun.

TikTok isn't for children. All of us, the users on the platform, report profiles that appear to display children regularly. Those profiles subsequently disappear. The fears that Congress pretended to display about the children being on TikTok aren't a social media problem, they are a parenting problem. TikTok should no more be held accountable for children viewing and participating than HBO should be held accountable for a 5-year-old stumbling into a room and seeing the trailer for Exorcist and being scarred for life from it - even though I was that 5-year-old. TikTok didn't recruit those children, nor does it endorse their use of their app. I know this from personal experience and have provided my driver's license to identify myself without hesitation. I don't care if China has my information! Good Lord you can Google me and find out just about everything you want to know.

I don't believe Congress is worried about pupillary response in advertising; I believe Congress is concerned because there are no kickbacks for the American government. I do not believe Congress is truly worried about children being on the platform; I believe Congress is concerned that they have no control over the information that is being shared amongst the 500 million active users on TikTok. I don't believe that Congress is worried about China having American information; I believe Congress is worried that 500 million people might develop a hive mind and rebel against a tyrannical government, as is our Constitutional right. In political philosophy, the right of revolution (or right of rebellion) is the right or duty of a people to "alter or abolish" a government that acts against their common interests or threatens the safety of the people without cause. Roughly 100 million users in the United States would feel very much that their common interests have been acted against should their access to TikTok suddenly and forcefully be removed.

I move that Congress withdraw their interest in TikTok and focus wholeheartedly on the Meta platform, where more and more users are inclined to believe their daily conversations are being monitored, their daily activities are being recorded via algorithm, and advertising is being geared toward their usage of the app. That, Mr. Westerman, is disturbing.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Shannon Lawson, MS, MBA, PhD