An adolescent uses TikTok on a mobile phone. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

By Beth Harpaz March 7, 2024

The Jewish Federations of North America asked a U.S. congressional committee to approve a bill that would allow the president to ban TikTok or force its China-based parent company to sell it.

“Social media is a major driver of the rise in antisemitism,” the JFNA said Wednesday in a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, adding that TikTok “is the worst offender by far.”

The bill in question would require “foreign-adversary controlled apps” to divest from their foreign owners or else lose access to app stores and web hosting in the U.S. 

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Any application that “presents a national security threat, has over 1 million annual active users, and is under the control of a foreign adversary entity” could be subject to those terms. The bill would allow the president to decide which platforms should be forced to comply with the proposed regulations, but it does not punish individual social media users or censor speech.

How TikTok works

TikTok is different from other social media sites where users mostly see posts from people they follow. TikTok’s algorithm, in contrast, automatically begins playing videos for users that appear to be related to their interests, rather than only responding to topics the user is actively looking for. The app refines what it exposes the user to based on factors like how long the user watches a given video. If you use the app to consume news, as many young users do, watching videos about topics related to Israel or the war could lead the app to rapidly offer up antisemitic or conspiratorial content. 

The Wall Street Journal created test accounts for eight hypothetical 13-year-olds and found that within hours, the app was sending apocalyptic, conspiratorial and “highly polarized content, reflecting often extreme pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel positions.” A majority of those posts “supported the Palestinian view.” 

Until recently, researchers and lawmakers used a tool on the TikTok app to search for content related to the Israel-Hamas war. What they found was an inordinate amount of pro-Palestinian content. In January, TikTok quietly turned off that particular search feature, making it harder to do this kind of research.

A poll published in The New York Times in December found that 35% of voters aged 18-29 get their news primarily from social media, and 44% use TikTok “often.” That same poll showed that 48% in that age group believe Israel is intentionally killing civilians in Gaza and 55% oppose providing further aid to Israel.

China’s interests

Studies also show that China skews content on TikTok to reflect its perspective on a variety of issues, suppressing, for example, pro-Tibet content and content that is critical of China’s treatment of Uyghurs.

Research also suggests China promotes content that could sow discord in the U.S. While China has not been particularly forceful in matters related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday called for peace talks and the release of hostages while also expressing support for a Palestinian state. “Palestine has a right to exist in this world … All detainees should be released and all acts of killing should stop,” Wang said. “China fully supports Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations.”

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