Shortly before President Donald Trump was sworn in, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to TikTok to explain why the popular app thanking "President Trump" before he even took office was a deliberate "choice" that spells trouble for users.
In her post, she discussed the aftermath of TikTok resuming U.S. services following a 12-hour user lockout on Saturday night. TikTok issued a statement announcing the reversal, crediting the decision to "President Trump’s efforts."
She said the statement is a sign that TikTok is in league with the right-wing:
"First of all, Donald Trump is not president right now. He’s a private citizen. He does not have access to presidential powers. He does not have the ability to do any of that."
"So, like, please understand that TikTok’s decision to name Trump in the notification is a choice. They are signaling that they are privately collaborating. They have agreed to privately collaborate with Donald Trump and the Trump administration."
"And for all of those concerns that people were saying that TikTok is going to be used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese, understand that they’re using it as a propaganda tool for the right."
"Now, I want you all to put all the pieces together because what this effectively means is that every social media platform, mass social media platform in the United States has been taken over by the right-wing."
She also added that TikTok, like other social media sites, has "artificially manipulated the algorithm to boost right-wing content":
"TikTok is now saying ‘hey we are agreeing. We will use our push notification system for all 170 million American users to promote Donald Trump. Just understand that government announcements like these with companies, they never name politicians. They will usually name law or policy."
"TikTok is making an explicit agreement to do this. And if I were a betting person, they probably are making a deal with Donald Trump to not just use these push notifications. They probably would consider algorithmic changes."
'So what does this mean for us? Well, we are on the eve of an authoritarian administration. This is what 21st century fascism is starting to look like."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
@aoc More on the TikTok Ban
Many joined her in calling this out.
Shortly after taking office yesterday, Trump signed an executive order to delay enforcement of a federal ban on TikTok for 75 days, despite the law taking effect on Sunday and questions about whether such a move could override it.
The order instructs the attorney general to refrain from enforcing the law, giving the administration “an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward.” It is retroactive to Sunday.
The order may face immediate legal challenges, including questions about whether a president has the authority to halt enforcement of federal law. Companies subject to the ban, which prohibits providing services to Chinese-owned TikTok, might determine that the order does not shield them from legal liability.
The federal law banning TikTok, owned by ByteDance, required the app to be sold to a non-Chinese owner or face being blocked. It provides a 90-day extension only if a likely buyer is identified—a scenario complicated by the law already being in effect. The law also imposes strict limits on how much of TikTok’s stake can remain under foreign ownership.
TikTok’s connections to China have long raised national security concerns, including with Trump. Toward the end of his first term in 2020, Trump issued an executive order to bar app stores from offering TikTok for download and pushed for an American company to purchase the app. However, those efforts stalled after he lost re-election.
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