By Mataeo Smith
TikTok lives to see another day — for now.
In August, the Trump Administration took a hiatus from blaming China for COVID-19’s deadly rampage throughout the United States to focus on TikTok. Apparently, it’s more important to impede China’s alleged security breaches than containing an omnipresent virus.
Trump’s impetus to ban TikTok, compared to containing COVID-19, is night and day. This man was ignoring the Center for Disease Control experts, refused to increase testing — because apparently, more tests reveal more positive cases — and attempted to reopen the country on Easter Sunday about three weeks into lockdown.
We all know the real reason, however. Gen Z is a force to be reckoned with in terms of TikTok. Within TikTok’s plethora of content lies liberal TikTok: a land where abortions should be free and Breonna Taylor’s killers should be brought to justice. Gen Z formed a plan to purchase Trump rally tickets to guarantee a skeleton crowd. You’d think Trump would attack them on Twitter, but sadly he’s more childish than we’d thought. Banning TikTok would silence Gen Z and eradicate an app where he’s called out on his BS.
Since his executive order to ban the app Aug. 6, Trump has threatened Apple and Google with fines up to $20 million, as well as supposed prison time for its workers. He also insisted the app halt all updates in the U.S preceding the ban Nov. 12.
Government representatives argued TikTok was an “immediate danger” to national security given its ownership by Bytedance, a chinese multinational internet technology company. The U.S couldn’t risk American user data being in the hands of the chinese government, despite Bytedance’s assurance that American user data is kept stateside.
CNN reported TikTok was supposed to be taken off the Google Play and Apple store Sept. 20, but TikTok hired lawyers who refuted the ban would be unconstitutional and a violation of due process.
A federal judge ruled to block the ban on downloads for the app hours before restrictions were to fall into place. TikTok was granted only a temporary injunction, so it’s too early to celebrate our coveted app overcoming orange donny and his cronies.
“The ban would have been an extraordinary action at the very time when the need for free, open and accessible communication in America is at its zenith,” John Hall, one of TikTok’s attorneys, told CNN.
It’s relieving to know Mr. grab them by the p—y will half-ass his way through an illness ravaging American cities, but will do his best to banish a Chinese app for our safety. Though the ban was supposed to distract his critics from the pandemic and wash a few specs of dirt from his name, the other half of people think he might be trying to scath China as part of his agenda to accept minimal blame for the pandemic. Donald Trump is concerned only about salvaging his seat in the White House after this acrid mess of a year.
China is not the reason more than 200,000 people in the U.S have died of COVID-19. China is not the reason why face masks are now as common as underwear. China is not the reason why unemployment has reached woefully high levels since the great depression. That orange monster is, but he refuses to take any of the blame. Stay away from TikTok.
Also remember to vote Nov. 3.
