TikTok ban?

[Stranger in a strange land]

The issue is that any potential manipulation of TikTok's algorithim as well as any data collection use by the CCP can both be addressed by means short of a ban. Simply open up the algorithim to regulators so they can see what's in it, would solve the first issue. And keep all the data in the US with the passwords only available to employees of a third party auditor or a regulator would solve the other issue.

And further, require a corporate structure so that the US operations are essentially independent, and any communications from "HQ" down are monitored by regulators, and any policies issued from HQ down subject to regulatory approval.

With those reforms in place, there is no need for the most draconian restriction on Americans' speech in a century, as well as opening up the can of worms of the government telling people which apps can be used or not. And besides, all of the data collection and manipulation concerns regarding TikTok also apply to other social media companies. They may be of a different scale, but our privacy should be protected against misuse by domestic actors as well. So there should be a bill covering general privacy protections rather than this bill.

This is hardly "the most draconian restriction on Americans' speech in a century."  It is not demanding any change to TikTok's functionality at all.  It is just saying that an app that stores massive amounts of user data in a totally non-transparent way should be owned by an American company.  The amount of disinformation and conspiratorial thought around this issue is staggering.

I'll also add that the fact ByteDance won't agree to do any of what Beet describes, or even sell the company for billions of dollars, should be a huge red flag about its real purpose and intentions.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Honestly I think Biden should veto if it passes the senate. Normally I wouldn't go this route, but voters are very dumb and simple about things like this, and I can easily see this turning into a BIDEN WANTS TO BAN TIKTOK, TRUMP WANTS TO SAVE IT type nonsense thing even though the truth is much more complex than that

There's a good chance this would backfire since most people who aren't on TikTok hate it.