The TikTok ban solves the wrong problem

When Congress voted to approve the “TikTok Ban,” they made two arguments for its need: Content moderation/censorship, and foreign influence/surveillance.

Both are equally absurd when you consider the social media landscape.

Democrats joining the Republican chorus on this issue isn’t a rare glimpse of bipartisanship for good — it’s a reflection of the age of our representatives and their disinterest in solving the urgent problems of social media today.

Content Moderation

Any content posted online, in a magazine, or broadcast is subject to censorship.

By definition, censorship requires a state to not limit speech or punish those for speech, but often people use the term loosely to mean any removal of speech or content from the internet.

Even the First Amendment has its limits, though.

It’s illegal to share child pornography online. The government and law enforcement agencies work with internet and communications companies to monitor what’s being posted, shared and even sent through email to prevent dissemination of illicit sexual content involving minors. Most people would not disagree with that policy.

In theory, no activity that would constitute a crime in the “real world” should be permitted online — including stalking, harassment, threats of violence.

And the “TikTok” ban does nothing to address how those crimes have become rampant on these platforms.