The push to ban TikTok in the U.S. has always had a whiff of protectionism about it, emanating from some of the arguments being put forward (that TikTok violates user privacy, as if American Big Tech doesn’t do the same) and from some of the people espousing them—Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said he’d “love” to see a TikTok ban, and Meta reportedly paid a Republican consulting firm to lobby local politicians against the Chinese platform.
Which is why it’s so fascinating to see U.S. tech giants suddenly lining up behind their rival in the pushback against Montana’s TikTok ban. Two industry associations, NetChoice and the Chamber of Progress—both of which count Meta as a member; Snap is also a NetChoice member—yesterday made a joint court filing in TikTok’s lawsuit against the ban’s enforcement.
