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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced his intention to challenge a possible US ban on TikTok.
Kennedy criticized the official rationale behind the proposed ban, which is part of a recent $95 billion national security package signed by President Biden. He argued that the ban is misleadingly framed as a protective measure against data harvesting by China. “Don’t be fooled — the TikTok ban is not about China harvesting your data. That’s a smoke screen.” He added, “I’m going to file a lawsuit challenging the TikTok ban on Constitutional grounds.”
Kennedy argued that data surveillance is a widespread practice that is not exclusive to any nation, including the US. He said, “Intelligence agencies from lots of countries, especially ours, are harvesting your data from everywhere all the time.” His comments come shortly after the legislation was introduced, which mandates the sale of TikTok by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to avoid a ban—something ByteDance has refused to consider.
Kennedy also said the ban would significantly impact young American entrepreneurs who use the platform for business and creative expression. He said, “Congress and the administration don’t understand that TikTok is an entrepreneurial platform for thousands of American young people. They want to screw them over just so they can pretend to be tough on China.”
This comes as both ByteDance and TikTok have dismissed rumors of a potential sale of TikTok while also calling the law unconstitutional. They have also vowed to legally challenge the ban.
