Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout argues that Congress’s push to force TikTok’s sale isn’t just about data privacy— it’s about safeguarding democracy from foreign influence, echoing long-standing concerns in American history.
Does congress really have the power to force a sale of TikTok? Last week, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would require TikTok’s parent company, the Beijing-based ByteDance, to sell the U.S. version of TikTok to an American buyer within six months or have the app blocked. The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, but its early momentum seems to have genuinely shocked and dismayed many people, who see it as a xenophobic provocation, a performative-messaging bill, or the first step in a dangerous unwinding of a global, free internet.
Read “Critics of the TikTok Bill Are Missing the Point” in The Atlantic.