Congress told us that TikTok was a security threat. They fanned their manufactured anti-China flames and claimed that China was stealing our data for nefarious purposes. But this was all a cover to hide the true reason they wanted to ban TikTok: to censor pro-Palestinian activism and silence the many voices working towards liberation.
Ever since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, when he signed an executive order delaying the TikTok ban for 75 days, TikTok users have faced increased censorship of political content, especially pro-Palestine comments and videos. Clearly, TikTok is trying to “play the game” to avoid being banned, which means silencing truth to suit the agenda of the political elite.
Selling TikTok to an American company is the solution the U.S. government has proposed to keep the app, but with Trump’s history of repression and TikTok’s alleged censorship since returning, will saving the platform come at the expense of the freedom of expression it was originally popularized for?
Join us in telling TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, and ByteDance executives: Don’t Sell Out! No Silencing Pro-Palestine Voices! We need platforms like TikTok to express our ideas freely, and compromising freedom of speech is not an acceptable method to save TikTok!
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and ByteDance Executives,
We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned with TikTok’s future. Specifically, we are concerned that saving the app in the United States will come at the expense of our freedom of speech if it’s sold to an American company, giving the U.S. government the power to limit what happens on the platform. We value TikTok as a platform to express our ideas freely, including our political opinions. We are concerned that saving TikTok in the U.S. means our voices will be censored, and in turn, political content — especially about Palestine — will be repressed.
Congress originally informed us that TikTok was a security threat because it allows China to spy on American citizens. However, that was never the real reason they feared TikTok. AIPAC has spent millions of dollars influencing our politicians to act in their interests, including the banning of TikTok to silence pro-Palestine voices that they consider a threat to their Zionist ideology. Congress then weaponized anti-China hate and planted seeds of fear that would blossom into consent for the banning of TikTok. This backfired in its entirety when TikTok users made the switch to the Chinese app Rednote and discovered they can’t trust the government to tell the truth about China.
U.S. TikTok users widely claim the platform has operated differently since the 12-hour ban, alleging that TikTok now censors political content, especially activism around Palestine. It is clear you are attempting to win the favor of Trump and the political elite in order to save TikTok – but without the freedom of expression, TikTok is not worth saving.
Selling TikTok to an American company is the solution the U.S. government has proposed to keep the app, but with Trump’s history of repression and TikTok’s alleged censorship since returning — we are reasonably concerned with the way TikTok will operate if it’s sold to an American company or if Trump is given any power over the platform — directly or through an American corporation.
We understand the desire to keep TikTok running in the U.S., and we share it with you, but that should not come at the expense of our constitutional rights, which Mr. Shou Zi Chew expressed the desire to protect in a video by the official TikTok account before the U.S. ban. We are calling on you to not sell out and to not compromise the freedom of expression TikTok was originally popularized for. Stop silencing pro-Palestine voices, and keep TikTok a platform that allows its users to stand up against genocide, and for the liberation and human rights of all people!
We, the undersigned, use TikTok to exercise our freedom of speech, and we want to keep it that way! Don’t sell out, NO silencing Palestine voices, and don’t compromise our ability to express ourselves freely on the app!