Time to extend 20th century ban on foreign-controlled broadcasters to 21st century TikTok
U.S. laws prohibiting foreign control of radio and TV stations are outmoded.
It's easy to see why those laws were passed in the last century. Our government didn't want to turn American broadcast media into mouthpieces for foreign propaganda.
Here's the problem: Americans don't get much of their news from TV and radio anymore. According to Pew Research, 58% of U.S. adults prefer to get their news from digital devices while only 27% prefer television and a minuscule 6% rely on radio as their news source of choice.
About a third of 18 to 29 year olds regularly get their news from TikTok, the app that enables users to create, view and share short videos. Only 3% of those over 65 do the same. The percentage of TikTok users who turn to the app for their news has almost doubled from 22% to 43% in the past three years.
TikTok is controlled by its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance. China's 2017 National Intelligence Law states that "any organization" must cooperate with state intelligence agencies. The consequence of not obeying can be prison or disappearance. Despite any TikTok claims to the contrary, a report from Rutgers University and the Network Contagion Research Institute found "a strong possibility that content on TikTok is either amplified or suppressed based on its alignment with the interests of the Chinese Government."
For example, Taiwanese authorities believe China is using TikTok to undermine people's confidence in their government through a campaign of "cognitive warfare." A recent survey found favorability toward the United States among Taiwanese adults at 63.6% while 16.2% favored China. But among Taiwanese TikTok users, more believed their government's close relations with the U.S. were "provoking China" in a manner that could lead to conflict.
There's little more controversial on the American political scene today than Israel's war with the terrorist group Hamas. The Chinese government is tilting toward a position against Israel. In a 30-day period in November and December, the hashtag #FreePalestine was used in a million TikTok videos available on TikTok. There were fewer than 2% as many clips with the pro-Israel hashtag #standwithIsrael.
A December New York Times poll showed 45% of 18- to 29-year-old Americans, the cohort most likely to get its news from TikTok, believe President Joe Biden is too supportive of Israel. Only 8% of the over-65 cohort felt the same.
No surprise. The Chinese government sure appears to be using TikTok to influence young adults in both Taiwan and the United States. Human Rights Watch dismisses claims that TikTok is independent of Beijing's control, saying any Chinese company is "extremely vulnerable to (Chinese government) demands."
In introducing a 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said, "China and Iran have joined Russia in attempts to disrupt our democracy, exacerbate societal divisions, and sow doubts about the legitimacy and integrity of our institutions, our electoral process and our republic." But with TikTok, China has a more insidious weapon than fake Russian and Iranian postings on Facebook.
Avoiding that foreign influence is exactly why the crafters of Section 310 of the Communications Act of 1934 limited foreign ownership of an over-the-air broadcaster to 25%. But what good does that do if Americans, especially young adults, are watching 15-second clips on Chinese government-controlled TikTok and not the half-hour CBS Evening News?
It's almost as if the Chinese government were sending in fentanyl to mess with American minds. ...Wait a minute. Beijing is effectively doing that, too. At a press conference this past October, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said, "The two drug cartels that are responsible for fentanyl coming into the United States ... work with chemical companies based in the People's Republic of China to get their raw materials."
Congress held hearings on TikTok last March. Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said: "TikTok has repeatedly chosen the path for more control, more surveillance and more manipulation. Your platform should be banned." Rep. Frank Pallone, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said, "The combination of TikTok's Beijing communist-based China ownership and its popularity exacerbates its danger to our country."
TikTok appears to be a covert but effective way to get Americans, especially young adults, to support Chinese government policies. The law banning foreign control of broadcasters needs to be extended to applications using the internet such as TikTok. Apparently, Congress realizes it's a problem. Now it's time to act.
Copyright 2024, Creators