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Elon Musk again denounces TikTok’s ban in US even though the ‘ban may benefit the X platform’
Again, Elon Musk has taken a strong stand against the proposed ban of TikTok in the US, claiming it is choking “freedom of speech and expression.” And it is against the moral values and ethics of America.
“In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the 𝕏 platform,” Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”
The statement comes after the House passed the hurdle on the procedural aspect, which will enable a formal vote that might be conducted on the 6th of May, starting, at the latest, on Saturday, on the legislative package that will be used to deliver $95 billion to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The proposal is finalized with a fourth set of bills.
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This is not the first time Musk opposes TikTok’s ban
This is not the first time the Tesla boss has taken a stand against TikTok’s ban in the US.
Last month, in an X post, Musk said that the legislation extends beyond concerns about national security over a Chinese-owned app.
“This law is not just about TikTok, it is about censorship and government control! If it were just about TikTok, it would only cite “foreign control” as the issue, but it does not,” he argued in the post.
Why House want to ban TikTok
TikTok has for long been at the receiving end of criticism from many quarters as far as whether, as a company, it could very much be controlled by the Chinese government, with their concerns being that if Bytedance (the parent company) had passed the data of Americans to the government or used TikTok to spread propaganda.
The app has long been known for its links with the Chinese government. At the stroke of the last month, the House approved a resolution, which got the bipartisan support and aimed to stop the functioning of TikTok or have to be sold in the U.S.
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But as for the Senate, it didn’t advance the legislation. The latest TikTok subset ban provided under the foreign financing document offers a much longer period of time of 270 days plus one option extending the transaction to 90 days for President Joe Biden to agree compared to the initial bill that only prioritized 180 days to full divesting deadline.