executive summary
Political awareness is growing over the national security issues posed by TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance. It is natural for lawmakers and the public to be concerned. Numerous data points are now available, ranging from ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party, to its potential for social manipulation, to its collection of personal data in the United States. Several efforts have been made to limit potential risks, including storing TikTok data on servers in the United States (rather than in China). However, there is more you can do. Lawmakers should consider additional measures, including a forced sale of ByteDance’s U.S. operations or even a complete nationwide ban on TikTok.
TikTok’s national security threat is just one element of the myriad challenges faced by regulators seeking to protect the public using social media platforms. As such, TikTok is a useful case study for considering broader issues regarding social media as a whole. TikTok and other social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook often have a negative impact on the mental health of minors. Unrealistic beauty standards, bullying, and sexual harassment are all very real problems on these platforms, and policymakers should do more to encourage companies to seek solutions. Additionally, misinformation and disinformation often flourish due to social media companies’ varying and lax rules for moderating content, and when social media companies are under the influence of foreign adversaries, this can lead to problems in U.S. democracy. can pose particular challenges.
Holding social media companies accountable is difficult under current law, most notably because of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides broad legal liability for companies for content posted by their users. Additionally, to ensure that U.S. user data is safe and not exploited by foreign adversaries, CFIUS may need to make recommendations that could result in a forced sale of TikTok or a complete ban on the platform. We will pass updated data protection laws, encourage social media companies to develop better age verification practices, re-establish a “duty of care” standard that requires companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm, and more. , explores policy solutions to the aforementioned problems. To users.
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