Leverage the TikTok Debate to Address All Online Communications Platforms’ Surveillance and Manipulation Business Models

WASHINGTON - Open Markets Executive Director Barry Lynn weighed in today on the vote in the House of Representatives and overall debate about legislating ByteDance’s divestment of TikTok:  

“Leaders from both parties have an opportunity right now to leverage the debate about TikTok to pass far more comprehensive and strategic fixes that address the many threats posed to U.S. national security and democracy by the surveillance- and manipulation-driven business models of America’s main online communications platforms.    

“There is nothing today to stop Facebook-Meta or X, for instance, from taking advertising dollars from a U.S. adversary to run ads designed to manipulate American voters and children. The legal regime that allows these all-powerful corporations to manipulate what citizens read and how they debate with one another is the threat Congress must solve now.   

“In doing so, Congress will also take a huge step toward rebuilding trustworthy news and journalism in America by loosening the grip of these dangerous gatekeeper corporations on the advertising dollars that have supported American news publishers since before the revolution. 

“We applaud the White House and members of Congress for recognizing this one part of what is a much bigger problem. We call on Congress to move immediately to finish the job.” 

###