Rand Paul breaks ranks with GOP on TikTok ban: ‘Goes against the First Amendment’

Senator Rand Paul, Republican from Kentucky, is opposing the push to ban TikTok, a popular China-affiliated app for short-form videos. At least two bipartisan bills to ban the app have been proposed in the Senate, and the House is reportedly considering similar action. However, Paul argues that banning the app would trample on First Amendment Rights.

One of the bills proposed by Senator Mark Warner, Democrat from Virginia and Senate Minority Whip John Thune, Republican from South Dakota, would grant President Joe Biden the power to prohibit the app, while the other, proposed by Senator Marco Rubio, Republican from Florida, would outright ban TikTok.

Paul insists that he is aligned with the First Amendment to the Constitution, and states that companies which operate in the US should not be limited in their speech or their ability to broadcast speech through their platforms. He said in a statement to Fox News that “If you ban a social media platform, you know, I don’t know if you get any clearer that that goes against the First Amendment.”

Although Republicans largely appear united in supporting a ban, Democrats are split on the issue, with progressive members such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman and Ilhan Omar opposing such a measure.

TikTok’s parent company is ByteDance, a Chinese firm, which raises concerns that Chinese civil-military practices could lead to the harvesting of personal data from US users of the app. However, Paul insists that even if a Congressional ban achieved approval, the courts could still overturn it — a Federal judge halted then-President Donald Trump’s TikTok ban in 2020, for example.

Despite the security concerns, Paul reiterates his opposition to banning the app. “I think it’s a really bad idea. And people need to ask themselves, why does the Chinese government ban TikTok, and do we want to emulate the Chinese government? So I think it’s a mistake,” he said.

While the Biden administration has yet to indicate a clear position on the issue, they have raised concerns over the potential security risk posed by TikTok.