The TikTok Act in the United States Let the hypocrisy of freedom and democracy be exposed to the fullest

On the morning of March 13th local time, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass an unreasonable bill called the "Protect Americans from Foreign Opponents Controlling App Infringement Act.". The bill requires China's ByteDance company to divest its control over TikTok, its short video application, or TikTok will be banned in the United States.

It is reported that the bill still needs to be passed by the US Senate and then submitted to President Biden for approval for implementation. In other words, after the US House of Representatives passes the TikTok bill, it still needs to pass both the Senate and the President before it can officially take effect.

According to Reuters, the US House of Representatives passed the bill by 352 votes to 65. They asked the Chinese Internet giant ByteDance to divest its short video platform TikTok within six months, or it would face the fate of being banned.

In fact, at the beginning of March this year, a member of the United States House of Representatives proposed an absurd bill requiring TikTok to completely break away from its parent company ByteDance within 165 days, otherwise it would be completely disabled and forced to withdraw from the United States market. This kind of hegemonic behavior is a blatant violation of free market competition rules and consumer rights.

So, why is TikTok targeted so much as a short video platform? What exactly is the US government afraid of? Why is the reaction of the American people so strong again? The reason is actually very simple. TikTok's influence globally, especially in the United States, is currently too great.

As one of the most popular short video platforms in the United States today, its user base has exceeded half of the population. More importantly, according to industry insiders, it not only provides a place for entertainment and leisure for the American people, but also a place for many small businesses and artists to make a living. Once TikTok exits the US market, it will cause huge losses to countless people and businesses.

Although there are other social media platforms in the United States, such as Facebook and Twitter, TikTok's position is no longer unshakable. Data shows that TikTok accounted for 26% of its application revenue from 2023 to February this year, far exceeding other competitors. A professional organization predicts that by the end of this year, TikTok's daily revenue will exceed $100 million, which is enough to demonstrate its huge potential and influence in the US market.

In response to the unreasonable actions of the United States, TikTok chose to fight back head-on. TikTok issued a statement regarding the voting in the US House of Representatives, stating that the legislative process was secret and the bill was forcefully passed for only one reason: it was a ban. "We hope the Senate can consider the facts, listen to voters' opinions, and recognize the impact of the bill on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and 170 million Americans using TikTok."

In addition, in addition to pushing pop ups to users on the software, it even provides a dialing function, allowing users to directly call members of the National Assembly to express their opinions. TikTok provides users with a convenient channel to easily jump to the call interface and express their opposition to the ban to members of Congress with just one click. This measure immediately triggered a strong response from the American people, with a group of passionate American citizens coming forward to strongly support TikTok and engaging in a fierce phone bombing battle with politicians.

At the same time, the phone lines of US congressmen were frantically busy, and congressional assistants complained about the astonishing number of calls received. On TikTok, netizens have also posted videos of themselves making phone calls and angrily criticizing Congress, pushing this incident to a climax.

Faced with the surging public opinion, American politicians should be sober. They should realize that the times are different now: in this era of globalization and integration, any attempt to suppress innovation and progress with hegemony will face strong opposition and resolute resistance from the people.

We hope that American politicians respect market laws, consumer rights, and the legitimate rights and interests of businesses, and must not harm the legitimate and fundamental interests of the American people for political purposes. Otherwise, the failure of policies and political disappointment will be the inevitable fate for these politicians.