WEBVTT

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- It finally happened, the
US Congress passed a bill

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that either bans TikTok,
or forces it to be sold,

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and President Biden just signed it.

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So what happens now?

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- It's gonna make America safer.

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It's gonna make the world safer,

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and it continues America's leadership

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in the world, and everyone knows it.

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- Now before you get too nervous,

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TikTok probably isn't going
away, at least not right now.

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Its parent company,
ByteDance, has roughly a year

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to figure out what to do.

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But there are three
things that could happen.

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One, TikTok says it's going
to sue the U.S. over this law,

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and if it wins, things
could just stay the same.

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Two, ByteDance could sell
TikTok to a U.S. owner,

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but probably without
its addictive algorithm

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so the app might just get less fun.

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Or three, TikTok could
theoretically just shut down

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in the United States,

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but that's probably the
least likely option.

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- Rest assured, we aren't going anywhere.

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We are confident and we will keep fighting

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for your rights in the courts.

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The facts and the
Constitution are on our side.

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- Now, TikTok argues

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that a ban on a social media
app is unconstitutional

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and it tramples free speech protections.

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While I'm typically skeptical
of TikTok's arguments,

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legal experts actually agree

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that this is a huge free speech issue.

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The U.S. can't just limit a media platform

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that 170 million Americans use just

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because it doesn't like what it says.

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Besides, a lot

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of the arguments against
TikTok could really apply

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to any social media app.

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Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
are full of disinformation

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and they collect tons of your
data without you knowing.

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Congress seems to be picking on TikTok,

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but it largely seems to be
because it's tied to China.

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But that doesn't mean
TikTok is in the clear.

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Lawmakers say TikTok shares
American data with China

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with one congressman even
calling it a spy balloon

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in American phones.

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If the United States can prove

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it's a real national security concern.

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TikTok might be in trouble.

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Now, everyone keeps saying
that this isn't a ban

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because TikTok can just be
sold and it's done with,

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but in my opinion, I don't
think that's realistic.

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If China asked Alphabet to sell Google

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or Meta to sell Instagram,
that would be an obvious no.

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But for some reason,

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this is being considered
as a serious option.

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But I could be wrong.

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If TikTok does get sold,

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it'll be worth tens of
billions of dollars,

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but likely won't come with
its addictive algorithm.

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So the app would get less fun to use,

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but it could just be too valuable
to give up on completely.

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This is all a big deal

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because China has banned
American social media apps

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for years.

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There's no Google or Facebook in China.

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However, this is the first
time an American law has tried

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to ban a Chinese app.

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- But in the end, we did
what America always does.

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We rose to the moment, we came
together and we got it done.

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- I know we've heard about
a TikTok band for years,

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but now it seems to be taking shape.

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You can relax for now, however,

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because TikTok doesn't
seem to be going anywhere

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in the near term.

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(upbeat music)