TikTok… TikTok…

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor

So, it turns out that our elected leaders actually can come together and agree on a piece of legislation long enough to pass it, as enough Democrats and Republicans agreed it was time to put party politics aside and go after the greatest threat to our national security, our freedom and our very way of life…

…by banning a video sharing phone app.

Yes, that’s right, America. We can all go to bed a little more secure now that Congress has passed a bill outlawing TikTok. I know that’s a load off my mind.

I’m being sarcastic because obviously, on the list of things that Congress should be coming together on, TikTok (the streaming app where all the “influencers” share their videos and I like to go for baseball bloopers and funny animal videos) is probably near the bottom of the list, but hey… bipartisanship!

See VIEWPOINT, page A6 VIEWPOINT

From page A4

So, why is TikTok so bad, you ask? Well, it is owned by a Chinese company and boy are we concerned about China lately. The fear is that TikTok is being used by the Chinese government in one way or another to spy on us, steal our data and otherwise destroy the U.S.A. (in some very ill-defined way). And you know what? Maybe they are? It has been suggested that our intelligence agencies have presented evidence to Congress about it, so who knows really? I don’t know what China could possibly do with my TikTok algorithm of pro pwrestling highlights and videos of this cat that is raising a bunch of baby chickens that would bring down America, but I’m no political strategist.

And it’s not all bad news for all the teens and tweens that love their TikToks. It turns out there’s a provision that the company could just sell TikTok to someone more palatable to Congress (as in, nor from China) and they actually have about a year to do so before the new law would go into effect, which will depend on when or if President Biden signs the bill.

He has said that he would, but I’m nost so sure that’s the best move he can make with a whole new generation of young voters able to vote in November…