Tik Tok and WeChat ban a free speech test

Controversy erupts over Donald Trump’s decision to ban TikTok and WeChat, as this decision encourages other countries to take revenge on US companies and raise their security concerns against foreign companies.

Washington: The US ban on Chinese TikTok and WeiChat apps poses a fundamental legal challenge to digital freedom of expression that could have major repercussions on the global Internet system.

The administration of US President Donald Trump pointed to national security concerns, saying the two widespread applications could be subject to “mandatory cooperation with intelligence services” from China.

But opponents of the measure say that while the security risks are unclear, the blanket ban on popular online platforms raises concerns about the government’s ability to impose regulatory restrictions on free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. of the United States Constitution.

It is a serious restriction of the rights that the First Amendment grants to the citizens and residents of the United States, “said Jamil Jaffer, director of the Night First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union agrees that the matter raises constitutional issues, describing it as a “misuse of emergency powers” by Trump, and said it creates more security concerns than which solves by banning app fixes and updates.

Limited reproduction

The decision, which will take effect on Sunday, bans the download of Tik Tok, a popular video-sharing app that has around 100 million users in the United States, and WeChat, another Chinese app used for messaging, shopping, payments and others. services, with approximately 19 million users in the United States.

Officials said WeChat jobs will be impacted immediately after the ban takes effect, though some services may continue to function. TikTok is expected to operate through November 12, the deadline set by an executive order issued by Trump, but users will not be able to download updates to the video app.

The move increases pressure on Bitdance, which owns TikTok, to strike a deal with a US partner to assuage Washington’s concerns about data security, as US tech giant Oracle in Silicon Valley is in talks to buy. part of the group and put TikTok under US control.

Internet segmentation

Critics of the ban say it could create more fissures in the fragmented global Internet system by freeing up governments to restrict and block online services.

“Trump’s decision is likely to further divide the Internet. It will encourage other countries to retaliate against US companies and raise their security concerns against foreign companies,” said Daryl West, director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. “The result could be several different internal networks on one basis. Country of origin.”

Adam Mosseri, director of the Facebook-owned Instagram app, expressed similar concerns. He tweeted: “Banning TikTok in America would be very bad for Instagram, Facebook, and the internet in general.” “The majority of Instagram users are from outside the United States, as is the case with most of our potential growth. And the costs are long-term … when countries impose strict demands and block us during the next decade we will slow down a single competitor today, “Mosseri added.

TikTok and WeChat users have appealed to US courts to avoid the expected shutdowns. Vanessa Papas, Acting President of TikTok, said the challenge “is definitely greater than Tik Tok alone.” “I truly believe that this moment will have a profound impact on our industry and will print the internet for years to come,” he wrote in a tweet.

Robert Chesney, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Texas, said the lawsuits face an uphill battle and that courts have generally allowed presidents to exercise emergency powers to enforce bans in the past. Chesney said there was “a First Amendment-related element” to the lawsuits, but the ban on business transactions for tech companies was still subject to a national security review. “They have the right to freedom of expression, but this does not give them the right to establish a company with American infrastructure,” he told AFP.