TikTok ban in US to damage its claims of free speech

Muhammad Zamir Assadi

The US administration still seems to be self-contradicting about its China policies as on one hand they have  announced to promote the stable and pragmatic relationship with the 2nd largest economy of the world while on the other hand they are clearly checking the Chinese business and tech entities from flourishing in United States.

The hostile attitude of the US administration towards Chinese businesses is not new to the world as it carries a long history of manipulating the fair market rules of engagements for foreign enterprises.

Recently, the US House Energy and Commerce Committee, by a 50-0 vote, approved a bipartisan bill that would require ByteDance to divest TikTok APP and other applications it owns within six months of the bill's enactment to avoid a nationwide ban.

The Biden administration’s move based on ill intention has drawn domestic and international criticism as it has also rang the alarm the for other global tech giants operating in the US that they should also be ready to face the same music without any logical reason.

The APP users in United States have started questioning the government about the hidden motivations behind the suppression of TikTok as it obviously cannot serve the national interest and may not be a helping tool in strengthening the China-US relationship.

Despite the congressional approval, TikTok received firm support from its American users who have never felt such kind of suspicion about the Chinese APP in terms of spying claims. Users in the U.S have also expressed dissatisfaction on American government’s procedure of dealing the tech giants in the country as it is also hurting the technological advancement in the U.S. as well.

The attitude of the American government towards TikTok is the continuation of its suppression of Chinese tech entities as back in August 2020, the then US President Trump invoked his emergency economic powers to impose broad sanctions against TikTok, a move that stepped up pressure on the Chinese-owned app to sell its U.S. assets to an American company.

However, the move by Trump administration was fully blocked by an American federal judge, a legal and a shameful defeat for the then American administration which exposed the double standards of American mindset as well.

The aggression of American administration against TikTok have raised serious concerns about the constitutional rights of the U.S. citizens as their free speech is being violated.

Now, in the election year, US president Joe Biden has also pressed the soft trigger just to manipulate the public opinion in the rescue of his falling popularity.

Such steps taken by American government are a distraction for the international community. It shows that foreign businesses may not be allowed to work independently and can be snubbed anytime by changes in local laws and regulations, which is a clear violation of free market economy.

The Biden administration needs to decide how to position China-American ties as such irritant factors like closing doors to Chinese tech entities will not serve the interests of bilateral relationship.

In the current politically hyped environment, presidential candidates are trying to gain the attention of people by fueling up their emotions, converting non-issues into issues, and ignoring the genuine domestic issues including education, healthcare, inflation, housing prices, climate crisis, abortion, equality, worsening democratic system, among others, of the country.

It is high time for American politicians to realize that maligning the foreign businesses will only damage the business environment in the country as well as America’s global reputation as an open and liberal market.

 (The author is a researcher on diplomacy and media fellow of China International Press Communication Centre.)