The target of the so-called “TikTok ban” isn’t China.
It’s you.
In a speech given yesterday as the U.S. House passed H.R. 7521, the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” sponsor Mike Gallagher (R-WI) couldn’t help but admit the threat he really sees in TikTok:
It’s “becoming the dominant news platform for Americans under 30.”
Gallagher went on to falsely claim the bill will not “penalize” American citizens. . .
Apparently blockading 170 million-plus Americans from a social media platform they use for speech is not a penalty!
Let’s be clear: Americans use TikTok as a platform for their speech. Tens of millions of Americans use the platform to promote and grow their small businesses.
It may not be your first choice (or mine), but more than 170 million Americans use TikTok – and if they can have their platform snatched away from them, we’re next.
That’s what this campaign to ban apps is driving at. If they can pass a ban on a social media platform – and get the courts to condone this unconstitutional act – then they will have precedent for trampling the speech of Americans for any so-called “national security threat.”
This whole affair is a masterful example of how the government gets away with radical assaults on our constitutional rights, including free speech:
— Create a fake emergency (“Can’t explain – it’s classified information!”)
— Stifle debate (“It’s an emergency!”)
— Whip up a scary foreign bogeyman (“The Chinese are stealing our elections!”)
— Demand immediate passage (“Our national security is at risk!”)
Make no mistake: this is one of the most historic assaults on free speech in American history.
And every member of Congress who insists this isn’t an act of censorship is either lying or ignorant.
And with real issues facing Congress – another budget showdown looming and a FISA Section 702 renewal deadline – they decided to ram this piece of legislation through in record time.
The bill was introduced Tuesday of last week, passed out of committee last Thursday, and voted on the House floor yesterday.
What’s scary is the power it gives to the president to shut down a website or app he alone determines to be a threat to America.
The good news is we are already hearing this bill will have more opposition in the Senate than it did in the House, where only 15% of representatives voted no – most of them Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has indicated the bill won’t be fast-tracked like it was in the House. Several senators have indicated their opposition.
The very same D.C. Swamp creatures supporting this liberty-shredding assault have repeatedly failed to rein in the out-of-control mass warrantless surveillance schemes that violate the privacy of hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Americans.
Now they are DESPERATE to ban a platform MORE THAN HALF of Americans use – before those citizens even have the opportunity to express their views.
Meanwhile, our federal government covertly buys your sensitive personal information from all kinds of American companies – including your Internet provider, your cell phone company, your social media networks, and even your auto insurance company.
And they want you to simply accept THEIR flagrant trashing of the Constitution they ALL swore to uphold!
Tell your U.S. Senators right now you are DONE with their games! DEMAND they oppose H.R. 7521.
Frank, please understand in these moments of very intense, very sudden pressure, lawmakers turn to their constituent input letters to understand what most people are most concerned about.
Your directive really does make a difference. Please take a moment to send your directive to your U.S. Senators and bring this tyrannical piece of legislation to a halt!
Please also realize that right now, there is an all-out effort from powerful forces in Washington to ram this “TikTok ban” through Congress.
We are in the heat of battle, right now.
Campaign for Liberty uses your support not only to rally more patriots, but to mobilize and pressure key members of Congress, not just in Washington but in their home districts.
We’ve had great success with this tactic in the past, but every election cycle, we leave it all on the field. Every time, we rely on contributions from patriots like you to put the muscle behind the message, so. . .
For Liberty,
John McCardell
Executive Director, Campaign for Liberty
P.S. This is a massive fraud on the American people. The target of their censorship isn’t China – it’s you and me. This is a dangerous precedent that must be stopped.
This isn’t an issue about a Chinese company. It’s about the government wanting to stifle your free speech.
Tell your U.S. Senators to vote NO on the ill-conceived H.R. 7521!
