A US attorney has hit out at the US government for their proposed ban on the social media app TikTok, as he claims the ban is for "transparently political reasons".
Eight TikTok creators are suing the US government, claiming their rights to free speech are 'being violated' by a new federal law that would ban the social video app if its Chinese owner doesn't sell it.
Speaking to GBN America, US Attorney Ian Samuel claimed the "mask is really slipping off" with the Biden administration, and has "never heard of a social media platform come under this kind of withering criticism".
The proposed ban comes after claims made by former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who said that TikTok has "become a vehicle for the distribution of real videos and real images of what is happening in Gaza", which he called "unacceptable".
Ian Samuel says the proposed TikTok ban in the US is down to 'political reasons'
Getty / GBNA
Explaining the proposed ban, Samuel told GBNA: "I have never seen in my entire life an actual attempt to ban a social media platform for the most transparently political reasons.
"The media needs to be mediated, it needs to be filtered and under a certain kind of control so that unacceptable ideas, unacceptable images, unacceptable thoughts do not get out there where they can do real harm."
Samuel revealed that TikTok is perceived by the US government as a "space where unacceptable political thoughts are not just expressed, but are popular", which is why they intend to "crack down on it".
In a discussion with host Mark Dolan, Samuel admitted he believes the ban "is not going to work over the long term".
The US government is being sued by eight TikTok influencers over the proposed ban
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Samuel argued: "I don't think that the problem is TikTok has an algorithm that is making this stuff happen.
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"I think the reality is that these sentiments are popular, widely accepted, and if allowed to be distributed free of interference, will achieve very wide distribution."
Samuel continued: "And the days in which you were able to manufacture consent in the way that was possible, say in the 1970s, the 1980s, even up to the 1990s and maybe even ten years ago.
"Those days are going away and they're not coming back. And that is a very good thing."
Taking on board Samuel's remarks, Mark questioned if the US government are "right to be concerned" about the links between TikTok and the Chinese state, who are "clearly an international bad actor and a threat to US national security".
Ian Samuel says the proposed TikTok ban is 'not going to work in the long term'
GBNA
Samuel explained: "I would say that is simply not how they are explaining themselves. We don't see TikTok propaganda supporting the Communist Party of China.
"Perhaps that would be possible given the control of the government over ByteDance, but we don't see anything like that."
He added: "What we do see is authentic user-generated content critical of a US ally, the state of Israel, and its actions in Gaza. That is what seems to have really whipped people up.
"And the idea that the Chinese government is going to use this to indoctrinate the youth of America with Marxism-Leninism is perhaps an appealing fantasy, but there is simply no evidence of it whatsoever."
