For decades, the United States has framed itself as a champion of the open internet, arguing that the web should be largely unregulated and that digital data should flow around the world unhindered by borders. . The government opposes internet censorship abroad and even funds software that allows people in authoritarian countries to circumvent online content restrictions.
Now its reputation could take a hit.
The House of Representatives will again try to advance legislation to force a sale of TikTok by Chinese owner ByteDance, or this time to enact the first U.S. ban on the app to include TikTok in the aid package. It is expected that For Israel and Ukraine. This would be similar to a standalone bill passed by the House of Representatives last month with bipartisan support, making it the most significant action yet by Congress to force the sale of foreign apps of TikTok's size.
Digital rights groups and other groups around the world took note, raising questions about how the move against TikTok contradicts U.S. advocacy for an open internet.
Russian opposition blogger Alexander Gorbunov posted on social media last month that Russia could use the move to shut down services such as YouTube. And digital rights advocates around the world have expressed concern about the ramifications of the United States providing cover for authoritarians who want to censor the internet.
In March, the Chinese government, which controls the country's internet, cited the TikTok bill and said the United States “has different ways of saying and doing things about the United States than it does about other countries.”
By targeting TikTok, a social media platform with 170 million U.S. users, many of whom share dance moves, comment on politics, and sell products, The United States could undermine decades of efforts to promote an open and free internet governed by international organizations. Not individual countries, digital rights advocates said. The web has become fragmented in recent years as authoritarian governments in China and Russia increasingly compromise their citizens' internet access.
“The United States' position in promoting internet freedom will decline,” said Juan Carlos Lara, executive director of Derecos Digitals, a Latin American digital rights group based in Chile. “It does nothing to strengthen its claims to promote a free, secure, stable and interoperable Internet.”
America's vision for an open Internet dates back to the 1990s, when President Bill Clinton said the Internet should become a “global free trade zone.” Administrations, including President Biden's, have struck agreements to maintain the flow of data between the United States and Europe. And the State Department condemned censorship, including restrictions in Nigeria and Pakistan on access to Twitter, now known as X.
Now, spurring concerns that TikTok could send data to the Chinese government or serve as a conduit for Chinese government propaganda, a bill passed by the House of Representatives last month would require ByteDance to be given up to six months. TikTok is required to be sold to a buyer that satisfies the US government. If the company doesn't find a buyer, app stores will have to stop offering the app for download, and web hosting companies will no longer be able to host TikTok. (It remains to be seen whether the bill, which is likely to be announced alongside the aid package, will include changes to deadlines or other aspects of the bill.)
The passage in March of the House bill, which is currently being debated in the Senate, caused worldwide anxiety.
Gorbunov, a Russian blogger who goes by the handle Stalin_Gulag, wrote on the social media service Telegram in March that banning TikTok could lead to further censorship in his country.
“I don't think it's necessary to say out loud the obvious, which is that when Russia blocks YouTube, they will justify it precisely by this decision of the United States,” Gorbunov said.
Mishi Chaudhary, a lawyer who founded the New Delhi-based Software Freedom Law Center, said the Indian government would also use the U.S. ban to justify further crackdowns. He said the company has already taken steps to shut down the internet, banning TikTok in 2020 due to border disputes with China.
“This not only gives them good reason to be confident in their past actions, but also gives them the courage to take similar actions in the future,” she said in an interview.
Derechos Digitales' Lara noted that countries such as Venezuela and Nicaragua have already passed laws giving governments more control over online content. She said increased government control of the internet was an “attractive idea” and “if we see it in places like the United States, there is a real danger of it becoming a reality.”
Digital rights experts said a forced sale or ban of TikTok could make it harder for the U.S. government to persuade other countries to accept an internet controlled by international organizations.
China, in particular, has built a system of internet censorship and argues that countries should have more power to set the rules of the web. The Chinese government has blocked access to products made by giant American technology companies, including Google's search engine, Facebook and Instagram.
Other countries are following the Chinese government's lead. Russia is blocking online content. India and Turkey have measures in place that allow people to request the deletion of social media posts.
Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, said if TikTok's measures become law, “the hypocrisy will be inevitable and the benefits to China will be enormous.” The ACLU is one of the most prominent groups opposing the TikTok bill.
If the United States were to ban or sell TikTok, officials would need to explain why the measures are different from other countries' efforts to restrict the flow of digital data within their borders, the National Security Council said. said Peter Harrell, former senior director of economics and competitiveness. Biden administration. The United States has pushed to allow data to flow unimpeded between countries.
“I support the action here on TikTok, but we need to hurry to catch up on the diplomatic front,” Harrell said.
Still, other supporters of the bill rejected the idea that action against TikTok would undermine U.S. internet policy.
An aide to the Chinese Communist Party's House Select Committee, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the bill, argued that the measure would benefit internet freedom by reducing the risk of Chinese influence on TikTok. .
A spokesperson for the National Security Council said in a statement that the United States “remains committed to an open internet.”
“There is a tension between that commitment and our responsibility to protect national security by thwarting specific threats posed by certain adversaries who can compromise Americans' personal information and manipulate Americans' discourse. No,” the spokesperson added.
anton troianovsky Contributed reporting from Berlin.and megan tobin I contributed a report from Taipei, Taiwan.
