One of the things that the United States likes to gloat about is its alleged status as an oasis of freedom for its citizens. The idea is that the U.S. is the only nation in the world that offers a staggering amount of rights. However, these have come under much contestation in the last couple of years due to their perceived lack of.
As social media has become more accessible and unregulated, American politicians are experiencing the dangers of a more conscious and informed majority. This new fear has led to actions contradicting what these politicians allegedly fight to uphold.
Corrupt, self-serving politicians must stop silencing youth voices because they are challenging the status quo. Free speech means free speech, regardless of the implications for politicians.
RIP TikTok
During the height of the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump threatened TikTok with a nationwide ban. Trump made such threats due to TikTok’s ties to China. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is Chinese-owned and based. Through this, he claimed that China was using TikTok to spy on American people. He claimed this threatened U.S. national security, foreign policy and the economy. Fortunately, U.S. District Judge Nichols of Washington D.C. fully blocked the Trump administration’s attempts.
Some have speculated that such claims led the then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden to win the election and the hearts of young Americans. One of the Democratic running themes was that Donald Trump and Republicans were a bunch of fascists and a threat to democracy.
Ironically, just four years later, Democrats face the same challenge they once claimed to be above and against.
On April 20, the House introduced and passed legislation banning TikTok. Just days later, the Senate passed the bill, passing both congressional chambers in less than a week. By April 24, Biden signed the bill requiring TikTok to sell to a U.S.-based company to keep its American users. Thus, the government will either take influence over one of America’s main hubs for youth activism or have it disappear.
America’s Biggest Threat
Social media is one of the most popular modes of communication among American youth. A 2023 survey found that 38% of American teens used TikTok.
Unlike its competitors, TikTok has become a platform threatening America’s tech empire and status quo. One of the core reasons why Democrats supported the once Republican-based threat was the unpopularity of Biden’s Hamas-Israel actions. Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, the Biden administration has had to fight two different wars. The invasion of Gaza and the war against proletariat consciousness.
During the Vietnam War protests in the ’60s, then-governor of California Ronald Reagan cut funding for public universities, his education advisor claiming that “we are in danger of producing an educated proletariat.” As president, Reagan further cut governmental spending on higher education. This action, therefore, transformed the U.S. education system and class consciousness.
As more youth use their voices to protest the inhuman actions that the country takes to uphold its supremacy — they become more frustrated with the state of their beloved country.
Youth have now become enemies of the state. To fight this enemy, the U.S. has gone straight to the source: social media. As social media becomes more accessible and popular, younger generations have begun using it as a peaceful weapon against the state.
Social Media is the New Atomic Bomb
Social platforms’ ability to send information quickly was once considered one of their best qualities. In its infancy, many people didn’t know the depths to which social media would send information. It was revolutionary.
Fast-forward a decade, and social media has become a not-so-positive tool, especially among older individuals. Due to its free nature and accessibility, many young people have been able to navigate the tool and use it to express themselves and their concerns about what’s happening around them.
Due to this, many concerned parents and older folks have developed a love-hate relationship with technology. One reason for hostility with older generations is the ability to educate or sometimes indoctrinate users.
This new ability has caused many politicians to fear what this new generation can do to their platforms and careers. Rather than coming up front and stating that social media is a threat to sustaining their corruption, they instead claim that it is a national security problem. In other words, social media has become America’s biggest threat.
Thankfully, social media and youth have been fighting back. Recently, TikTok announced that it will sue the U.S. government for allegedly enacting unconstitutional regulations.
The U.S. has no right to enforce such irrational laws and regulations. Youth must keep fighting back because if they do not, they risk their livelihoods and entitlement to their rights.
The U.S. government cannot keep gloating about being such a free country if they, in the same breath, try to silence and strip its citizens of the said rights.
Everyone deserves the right to critique their government regardless of the conclusion they come to — whether it is positive or negative. The only way to create a flourishing country is to continuously work to ensure that the country is on track and is being held accountable. To accomplish this, we cannot ban the things that help ensure accountability. A TikTok ban is not the way to go.
