WORCESTER, Mass — Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss voted in support of the bill forcing TikTok's parent company ByteDance to either sell the app or be banned in the U.S.
In fact, Auchincloss co-sponsored the bill.
"I want to hold social media corporations liable for defamation, for intimate privacy violations, for cyber harassment and bullying," Auchincloss said. "But we can't do those things if TikTok doesn't need to obey U.S. law."
What You Need To Know
- President Joe Biden signed a bill Wednesday which could ban TikTok unless current owner ByteDance sells the popular social media app
- Some are celebrating the move, including Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who voted in favor of the bill earlier this year
- Others, like influencer Joey Calcavecchia, are concerned, saying TikTok is a crucial part of their income
- TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew said the bill goes against the U.S. Constitution, and added that TikTok will be taking this measure to court
The Massachusetts Democrat said the passing of the legislation and the president's approval Wednesday was the first step of many in regulating social media companies.
"It's an unfair fight right now, though," Auchincloss said. "Parents are going up against trillion-dollar social media corporations who are monetizing our children's attention span. Congress needs to step up and fight back."
Others feel differently following the bill's passage.
Joey Calcavecchia runs a page called @the_roamingfoodie on TikTok. Calcavecchia makes a living traveling throughout New England, trying and rating local eateries. He boasts nearly 140,000 followers on TikTok, and creating content has become his job.
"I use this as a way to support all of these small businesses within the New England area," Calcavecchia said. "If they remove that or force it to be sold, things could change drastically, and take away that extra avenue for these businesses that rely on it."
Calcavecchia said that while he has more Instagram followers, it's TikTok which helped him build and maintain his following.
Losing the platform would be like losing half of his business.
"Without that, I'm not sure what it looks like," Calcavecchia said. "I think it's going to be a lot more hustling and going out there. And, you never know what can happen with Instagram. So, it's always a fear in the back of my head that these both could all just be gone tomorrow."
TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to the bill's passage Thursday on TikTok. He said 170 million American users would be impacted, adding a ban goes against the U.S. Constitution.
He also said TikTok plans on taking the bill to court.
"This is actually ironic, because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom," Chew said. "TikTok gives everyday Americans a powerful way to be seen and heard."
But Auchincloss disagrees.
"There is no civil liberties given to an algorithm owned by a foreign adversary," Auchincloss said. "Freedom of speech is not freedom of reach, particularly when that reach is amplified by an algorithm owned by the Chinese Communist Party."
Chew said they have built protections that no other company has created, investing billions of dollars into data security in an effort to keep users safe from outside manipulation.