The only explanation that makes sense to me is that TikTok is being targeted because it’s teaching people to criticize their governments. It’s a source of news that can’t be controlled and that’s dangerous. The bill isn’t about changing TikTok’s short-form format or restricting access to user’s data - it’s about moving it’s into the US for the sake of control or killing their influence if that won’t happen.

Arguments about mental health and data safety fall completely flat for me when so many other companies, apps, and governments are left alone in spite of the same problems. Social media, ads, video games, etc. are all deliberately designed to be addictive. Big companies like Google and Facebook/Meta have a business model of collecting data and “sharing” it with others. Governments collect data without protections like warrants all the time, and that includes the US. If mental health, privacy, and data safety were really the issues that motivated lawmakers we’d be seeing much more general protections as opposed to targeting one company.