TikTok is on the verge of either total failure in the West or unprecedented ascension. The platform is currently up against a SCOTUS decisions that could see it banned from the U.S. if it doesn't divest from ByteDance, a Chinese-owned company that effectively owns the platform.
As I've made the case multiple times, it would be far better for a U.S. company to acquire the platform than to have it banned in totality, and recent comments from Trump make that all-too apparent.
According to The Hill, Donald Trump was entirely complimentary of the platform, saying it helped him get elected thanks to its influence on Gen Z.
“We won young people, and I think that’s a big credit to TikTok, so I’m not opposed to TikTok,” the president-elect said on Newsmax.
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“I really have to wait to see what happens at the Supreme Court because nobody knows what they can do and who’s gonna do it until they hear from the Supreme Court,” Trump said, when asked what he will do if TikTok is not sold by the deadline.
“They’re gonna be making a ruling pretty soon,” he added. “But I had a very good experience with TikTok.”
Indeed, TikTok is a platform used by millions and millions of people, many of whom are young. Without TikTok, the message about Trump might not have gotten out.
The accusation from U.S. officials is that TikTok is using its influence to make the youth far less critical of China by introducing pro-Chinese propaganda. Indeed, videos critical of the nation aren't allowed much on the platform at all. According to a study by Rutgers University's Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) the platform is undoubtedly doing this despite TikTok's flat denial that it's happening at all.
The knee-jerk reaction is to ban it, but Trump's words prove that perhaps this isn't the way, and I've made it no mystery that I agree. TikTok is a fantastic platform with a fantastic algorithm and extraordinary ability to "get the word out." It's X but in video form.
Speaking of X, as my friend and colleague Joe Cunningham reported on Tuesday, Chinese officials have mentioned that Elon Musk is a potential buyer of the platform, though TikTok denies this outright and calls it fiction. It should be noted that while TikTok is calling this fiction, Chinese officials who ultimately own the platform aren't.
Other buyers are Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank and former owner of the LA Dodgers, Frank McCourt, who wants to take TikTok into a new age of free internet.
All three men would be a fantastic as these three would create a free speech platform that would have a bombastic effect on the culture. Just as X worked to completely upend the establishment narrative created by the information gatekeepers of the legacy media and Silicon Valley, turning TikTok into a free speech platform like X would only work to destroy what hold this media establishment has left.
If TikTok is already helping someone like Trump get elected, imagine how it could be used further down the line as an election resource where free speech is allowed in totality. Imagine its purchase by Musk turning it into an X platform where community notes can be implemented in various videos.
The effect this would have on the Western world would be astronomical. The corporate media would be effectively neutralized for younger generations. The information renaissance would be, in effect, full-blown.
This is why a full-on ban is not advisable. TikTok is an amazing resource that could be made even better with private control, and this would help liberty-minded people in and out of Washington thanks to a free flow of information. Republicans would win without having to fight as people would come across their points and understand them passively as people did with Democrat narratives thanks to the corporate media.
Best case scenario, Musk acquires TikTok. Worst case scenario is that it's banned entirely.
