Effort to Ban TikTok Shows Bipartisan Fear of China, Influence of Zionist Lobby?

Legislation against the social media app gives lie to US mantras of free expression and free competition, according to one analyst.

The last several years have seen increasing debate throughout the Western world over the role of social media.

The controversy arguably began in earnest in 2016, when the twin earthquakes of Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump shocked the political establishment. Debates over alleged foreign interference online eventually gave way to similar discourse about purported disinformation surrounding the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Western ruling class has utilized such controversies to attempt to reify establishment control over political narratives in an age of mass communication. Now Washington’s move to ban or force the sale of the video sharing app TikTok demonstrates the fragility of modern US imperialism, according to author and historian Gerald Horne. Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston in Texas, broke down the recent development during a discussion on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program on Friday.

“This crisis involving TikTok illuminates and illustrates a number of troubling trends for US imperialism,” said the researcher. “Number one, it reflects the hysteria about the People's Republic of China and its growing role in the political economy of planet Earth.” Horne noted China’s leading role in the production of solar panels and electric vehicles as companies like BYD increasingly dominate global EV sales.

“This is a reflection [of] the fact that China developed more engineers than the United States by several orders of magnitude,” he claimed. “It also represents the fact that the United States is finding it difficult to compete with China. And so, therefore, it's going to basically try to kneecap China.”

Political efforts to take action against TikTok have proven particularly controversial given the emphasis placed on freedom of expression in the United States. The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, a right cherished by millions of Americans.

“Our audience should recognize that those mantras are only relevant when US imperialism is in the driver seat, unchallenged,” said Horne. “It reflects a kind of hysteria, and it also reflects how the so-called Anglo-American axis sees capitalism and imperialism as a one-way street. That is to say, it's for them and their corporate comrades to dominate. But with regard to the street running in the other direction, not so much.”

The author claimed the approach is ultimately unsustainable and prevents US companies from effectively competing with China. For years Elon Musk’s Tesla, Inc. has promised the automaker will eventually release a low-cost mass market electric vehicle. But the cheap EV has remained elusive as US legislation shields Musk and other automakers from competition in the form of China’s cheap cars.

Discussion then turned to the foreign policy implications of the US’ proposed TikTok legislation. Talk of banning TikTok emerged previously in 2020, when former President Trump sought to force the sale of the Chinese-owned app. The controversy resulted in significant concessions, including promises by parent company ByteDance to store user data in the United States and submit its algorithm and moderation practices to regular screening by the US technology company Oracle.

Hamas’ October 7 attack and Israel’s response have since reshuffled the United States’ foreign policy prerogatives. In recent days a recording of the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League’s director Jonathan Greenblatt reemerged in which the CEO lamented TikTok’s alleged influence in turning young Americans against Israel. Observers have speculated about the role of the Zionist lobby in pushing for the app to be banned.

Horne acknowledged the connection but claimed the controversy signals something much broader.

“By seeking to crack down on TikTok, Washington is looking at future confrontations with China, future confrontations with regard to who is in ultimate control of the means of communication,” said the professor. “But what Washington should recognize is that, once again, they're setting an ominous precedent because if TikTok can be driven out of the US market, why can't Tesla be driven out of the Chinese market? And, of course, I could go down the list in terms of Starbucks, Microsoft and Apple and all the rest that are heavily dependent upon the Chinese market.”

“Obviously it seems that Washington feels that it has enough military muscle to impose a double standard, even on the world's second-largest economy,” Horne observed. “I dare say that that is euphemistically a misplaced optimism.”

Horne concluded that recent developments demonstrate “the deteriorating position of US imperialism,” which is especially threatened as the country’s ally Israel is discredited on the world stage.

“This will cause a severe adjustment for US imperialism, which has relied upon this unsinkable aircraft carrier in West Asia to carry out its diabolical schemes,” he claimed.