Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC, was ripped after she argued against banning the social media platform TikTok. The New York congresswoman spoke out against the motion to ban the app in her debut video on the controversial app on Saturday.
“Do I believe TikTok should be banned? No."
She continued:
“The United States has never before banned a social media company from existence, from operating in our borders, and this is an app that has over 150 million Americans on it."
AOC's defense of the popular Chinese-owned short video app came amid concerns that it is a possible threat to national security. Lawmakers are concerned about several streams of American data falling into the hands of the Chinese government.
They believe the app could be used to promote pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation. The Department of Justice is currently investigating claims that the company spied on several US tech journalists.
Netizens took to Twitter to discuss the controversial video made by the congresswoman on the TikTok ban motion. One user said:
Netizens are torn over AOC's viral TikTok ban video
TikTok users took to Twitter to discuss AOC's comments on banning TikTok. Some users criticized her for focusing on "influencer" problems rather than real-world issues like corruption.
Other users discussed how on point she was when she spoke about creating new privacy policies that stop all social media platforms from regulating every moment of our lives.
AOC spoke against the TikTok ban claiming that banning TikTok doesn't "address the core of the issues"
Ocasio-Cortez introduced herself and started the video by saying:
“This is not only my first TikTok, but it is a TikTok about TikTok."
The Democrat believed that banning the app would be an "unprecedented" move and didn't shy away from saying so. She insisted that banning the popular social media app “doesn’t address the core of the issues”.
She said banning TikTok wasn't the solution and brought up the fact that other social media businesses amass "troves of deeply personal data" without the user's consent or any type of restriction.
Ocasio-Cortez said in her video:
“The United States is one of the only developed nations in the world that has no significant data or privacy protection laws on the books.”
A senior member of New York's congressional delegation hit back at the trending video and said: "AOC clearly stands for Ambassador of China."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also talked about the alleged national security risks that come along with the TikTok app. She argued that if they were as serious as they are claimed to be, Congress would have received a classified briefing on them, which they seemingly did not.
The 33-year-old congresswoman said:
“It just doesn’t feel right to me."
Meanwhile, TikTok is already banned on federal government devices, with New York currently debating whether to follow the same example for state government-issued electronic devices.
Following a closely watched House hearing last Thursday where TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers, AOC's opinion on the TikTok ban is currently trending.