test TikTok Debate - Munk Debates

TikTok Debate

April 3, 2024
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TikTok Debate

Be it Resolved, TikTok is a national security threat and should be sold or banned.

It’s one of the most popular social media sites on the planet. It’s also a possible Trojan Horse that the Chinese government could use to spy on westerners and launch devastating disinformation campaigns. Concerns have been growing over TikTok’s ability to collect massive amounts of information about its users, and its suspected ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Those fears recently prompted the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill that would force the Chinese company that controls TikTok to sell it to American interests. If not, TikTok would be blocked on the app stores that an estimated 170 million Americans have used to download the app.

But there are many critics of the bill who argue it should never become law. They say the evidence China is using TikTok for nefarious purposes is scant. They also question why the U.S. is targeting one social media app, while others who similarly collect large swaths of data get a free pass. And they accuse Congress of using the pretense of national security to target a rival of American owned-social media giants, setting a dangerous precedent for future international business relationships.

Arguing in favour of the resolution is Scott Galloway, He’s a Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and host of the Prof G and Pivot Podcasts.

Arguing against the resolution is Julia Angwin. She is an investigative journalist, author, and contributing opinion writer for the New York Times who writes about the impacts of technology on societies.

“Are we okay with 13-year-old American boys being weaponized by the Chinese Communist Party, or a Chinese-owned company, to start calling Congress?”
-Scott Galloway

“Just because China bans US companies doesn’t mean that we should ban theirs. We are a country that values free speech.”
-Julia Angwin

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