FCC commissioner calls on Google and Apple to ban TikTok app
Washington Post
The Facts
On Tues., Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) of the Senate Intelligence Committee called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate TikTok's security practices.
This comes as FCC member Brendan Carr called on Apple and Google to remove the platform from their app stores last week, claiming that the app violates its safety policies.
The Spin
Narrative A
TikTok is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and it's time to take action. It packages itself as entertainment when in reality it's used for surveillance by the Chinese government - this app is a national security threat and it's the US government's job to combat threats to Americans.
Narrative B
While concerns regarding the Chinese-owned app are understandable, banning it isn't the answer. There's no evidence that TikTok is any more of a threat than other Chinese-owned apps, and to ban it would only create America's own version of China's Great Firewall. The US needs to find a way for Chinese apps and American democracy to coexist.
Cynical narrative
This is part of a broader ploy by Meta to destroy one of its main competitors. Facebook's parent company has been planting dishonest op-eds and spreading rumors for some time, and this apparant smear campaign is a clear indication that the once-popular social media platform may be approaching stagnation.