Edward Snowdenformer cybersecurity advisor to the National Security Agency, expressed his support Elon Musk’s opposition to a potential TikTok ban in the United States.
What happened: On Monday, Snowden responded to a post by Elon Muskowner of Xin which Musk expressed his opposition to the proposal to ban TikTok in the United States “In Old America, we grew up learning that censors, speech police, book burners: these were symbols by which an unfree society was recognized,” he tweeted Snowden.
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This comes on the heels of a bill passed by the US House of Representatives that could potentially ban TikTok, a popular social media app owned by ByteDance. The bill has raised concerns about violating American users’ free speech rights.
Because matter: Musk’s opposition to the ban is based on his belief that such a ban would contradict the principles of freedom of speech and expression, values that he says the United States “stands for.” He said: “In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the United States, even if such a ban could benefit Platform X.”
Snowden has previously criticized the singling out of TikTok due to its ties to China, calling it “an entirely bad move.” Instead, he suggested that the practice of violating privacy should be banned, saying: “Make it illegal to systematically and exploitively collect people’s private data. Under *any* flag.”
According to a statement from TikTok, the potential TikTok ban could impact the free speech rights of 170 million Americans. The social media giant expressed its concern about the potential violation of American users’ free speech rights, saying: “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian aid to once again obstruct a ban bill that would trample on the free speech rights of 170 million Americans.”
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