Civil Society Organizations Call on Senators to Stand Against TikTok Ban

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, are deeply concerned with the recent congressional efforts to ban TikTok in the United States. The wholesale banning of one of the most prominent and widely used social media platforms in the world is an assault on First Amendment rights and an attack on freedom of expression against TikTok users of all beliefs and backgrounds. Furthermore, as far as this group is concerned, TikTok does not present a unique or distinct threat that is not also present in other major platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) or Meta’s multiple platforms. This leads us to believe that this is primarily a political act, which serves to increase tension with China, rather than one rooted in the best interest and protection of the digital rights of U.S. citizens. 

Given the political climate in the U.S., and with on-going divisiness that comes during an election year, this bill and the attacks on TikTok will lead to a rise in anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crimes. This is a major concern and one that must be taken into account.  Furthermore, we are disturbed by reports that Meta has also invested in a disinformation campaign to try to smear TikTok. 

This legislation tacitly benefits companies like Meta and X without actually solving any of the problems endemic with social media.  Meta’s platform Facebook was found to have promoted violence during the Rohingya Genocide in 2017. Rather than learning from its mistakes, recent investigative reporting showed that Facebook was profiting from paid-for-placement ad campaigns promoting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the wake of the genocide in Gaza. Moreover, X (formerly Twitter) has been a hotbed for violent and genocidal commentary against Palestinians in recent months, where over 3 million individual posts have been documented. Yet, Congress is looking to ban one single platform, rather than write legislation which would regulate the sector as a whole, and could actually make social media safer for everyone.

We also reject the notion that TikTok is manufacturing support for Palestinians, as it has been proven again and again that TikTok is simply reflecting a global trend that younger generations are more likely to be supportive of the Palestinian cause. Pushing for this ban now, in the midst of such obviously false and damaging rhetoric, while Palestinians are suffering unimaginable atrocities, equates to a direct attack on Palestinian digital rights. 

We call on Senators to stand against this draconian bill, and for all members of Congress to collaborate with digital rights organizations to push for real accountability from social media companies.

Sincerely,

7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media 

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)

Fight for the Future

MPower Change

Muslim Counterpublics Lab

PartnersGlobal

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action (USCPR Action)