Issue One applauds court ruling upholding Congress’s bipartisan TikTok ban

In response to today’s federal appeals court ruling upholding a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States, Issue One’s Vice President of Technology Reform Alix Fraser provided the following statement:

“It’s encouraging to see today’s appeals court uphold a bipartisan law protecting U.S. national security. Our adversaries, including the Chinese government, have a vested interest in disrupting our democracy and driving a wedge between the U.S. and our trusted allies, further polarizing the American people, and manipulating U.S. public opinion to support the Chinese Communist Party’s interests. We can’t allow them to weaponize TikTok to undermine American democracy.

“Today’s decision is another step in the right direction, but we can’t stop with this one app. Our adversaries have exploited American social media platforms to undermine U.S. elections and weaken our democracy. Our elected leaders in Congress must continue working together to pass responsible safeguards that will build a healthier, democracy-enhancing information environment and protect users online, especially kids and teens, and uphold U.S. national security interests. ”

Background:

Earlier this week, Issue One published a new report highlighting how the design and operations of American social media platforms, compounded with partisan attacks on civil society collaborators, empowered foreign adversaries to wage sophisticated information warfare in the 2024 election. The report analyzed how these vulnerabilities emerged, the strategies foreign adversaries employed, and what Congress must do to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated in future elections. Read the full report here.