Brad in Newsweek: I'm suing the Biden administration to save Gen Z's free speech
Brad in Newsweek: I'm suing the Biden administration to save Gen Z's free speech
TikTok is not just cat videos, cringe-worthy dancing, and bad lip-syncing. Millions of Gen Z Americans like myself use TikTok to express ourselves, share news, and debate our ideas. Yet the federal government is trying to take this unique communication platform away from us.
In April, President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill enacting a de facto ban on TikTok. As a TikTok content creator whose content promoting individual liberty and free markets reaches a unique audience of millions on the platform, this unconstitutional law will strip me of my voice. That's why I'm teaming up with the Liberty Justice Center to file a lawsuit challenging this legislation as an unconstitutional violation of my First Amendment rights.
Some defenders of this legislation insist that it does not actually ban TikTok, but simply forces the sale of the app. But, in effect, the legislation is an outright ban because ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is likely legally prohibited from selling the TikTok algorithm by China's export control laws. And TikTok without its algorithm is not really TikTok at all…
Many proponents of the TikTok ban in Congress have cited the content on TikTok, describing it as "propaganda," as part of their motivation for banning the app. Yet shutting down political speech you dislike is not a legitimate government interest, let alone a compelling one…