Meta-dollars seeks to ban TikTok

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Columnist

Concerned Americans worry about their most private data falling into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, of being victims of algorithms focused on undermining the American way of life. These fears reached a fever-pitch after the enactment of a new security law in China that requires Sino-owned firms like TikTok to turn over such data upon demand to Chinese government officials.

At least that is the narrative which has so dominated the media discussion and led to calls for Congress to ban TikTok. Most recently, state Rep. Daryl Deshotel has echoed those calls, advocating a statutory ban on state-owned devices and computers here in Louisiana.

Many expressed surprise as Deshotel stands as one of Baton Rouge’s leading tech experts and a seasoned veteran of the IT industry in the state. He knows better than most that TikTok enjoys a vocal constituency as an app that educates and entertains tens of thousands of Louisianans. More importantly, the social media platform has allowed many local families to keep their small businesses afloat. This has been particularly true of young African-American entrepreneurs who constitute one of the fastest growing demographics on TikTok.

Perhaps more importantly, TikTok differs from other social media platforms in an operational sense. Mark Zuckerberg-owned platforms like Instagram or Facebook have never been able to duplicate the filters or algorithmic advantages that TikTok grants its users. The vertical video format has never quite taken off on Reels or Facebook Verticals in the way it has for TikTok. Nor do the “Meta” platforms allow influencers to make as much money through their online content.

Zuckerberg has witnessed an exodus of younger influence-makers in recent years to TikTok as a result, so the controversy over CCP data mining may have provided a unique political opportunity for Meta. A flood of campaign contributions have fallen upon state capitols to encourage bills such as Deshotel’s, prohibiting the use of TikTok and related applications on computers and networks owned or leased by the state. Since state governments tend to be the largest consumers in a local tech market, such an impact can negatively influence the overall business atmosphere for TikTok users.

According to one estimate, there are over a dozen lobbyists who have descended upon the 2023 legislative session employed by Meta, its subsidiaries, or allied social media companies. That constitutes a colossal lobbying effort for what would normally be a rather mundane national security concern. This has lead some to query the old cliché, “if you can’t beat them, have the legislature regulate them out of business!”

Speculation amongst Louisiana Capitol insiders centers on the idea that Meta’s newfound financial commitment to help ban TikTok has less to do with a public spirited commitment to American independence than the salivating promise of near-exclusive social media access to a multibillion dollar market of 150 million Americans. Such funding raises both serious, free-speech concerns, according to some, as well as anti-trust fears.

Yet as the money flows, few leaders in Baton Rouge have been willing to comment publicly on Meta’s lobbying effort, as this newspaper discovered in soliciting interviews on the subject.

That’s not to say that TikTok’s ownership structure does not provoke legitimate national security concerns. However, few on the floor of the La. House of Representatives have queried any serious concerns about those U.S. social media companies spending millions of dollars to kill it. Before the legislature bans a huge marketplace of ideas, critics of Deshotel’s legislation have requested a serious examination as to the motivations of those writing the checks to elected officials to help facilitate such a ban – in this case politicians of both parties.

In the coming weeks, Louisianans on both sides of the issue will have an opportunity to speak in the defense or in the opposition of TikTok. The legislature will determine whether legitimate national security concerns should out-weigh the loss of constitutional-guaranteed freedom of speech – especially with the campaign contributions and lobbyist retainers flowing from private corporate concerns to influence the argument. Currently, in a vote of 11-1 Deshotel’s bill, HB361, has been sent to the state House floor for debate after minor amendments were offered in an April 25 hearing by the House and Governmental Affairs committee.

This article originally published in the May 1, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.