Tik Tok V. Freedom of Speech

 

 have always maintained that a time would come when our Constitutional rights will collide with technology and our freedoms. That time has come with TikTok. Tik Tok by its ties to the Chinese government is a threat to our personal, and national security. That is why the government has the Constitutional authority to restrict or outright ban the app in the United States.

The restriction or ban of Tik Tok is some say a violation if the First Amendment, as it is  It is a restriction of free speech. The government can restrict free speech if it has a compelling interest to do so, which it does because of security both personal and national security. If the restriction is content-neutral, which it is, because the government wishes not to ban the content, but the app. The government offers an alternative which again it does with Facebook, Instagram. and other social media platforms. Those who say they are against it because it is important to their business, have other social media platforms that do the same thing.

Now to the dilemma, do we give up rights for security? That is the problem. Usually, I am against government restriction of any aspect of our life because as Ben Franklin said; “Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve liberty or safety.”  We must look at the right we are abdicating and compare it to the threat it represents. I have no problem giving up the right to Tik Tok to gain security, both personal and national/ I am also well aware of the slippery slope argument about giving up a right. I subscribe to that thinking as a rule. This is different, I just don’t see how it is a good deal for our country. I support the ban. I believe the very concept that our country is based on; freedom, will be what is our undoing in the end.