The recent TikTok hearing in the US Congress was nothing short of a farce. I watched the CEO of TikTok, a Singaporean with no ties to the Chinese Communist Party, being grilled with repetitive and irrelevant questions about his nationality and affiliations. This spectacle was less about addressing serious concerns and more about political theatre.
TikTok, initially a Chinese company, has jumped through numerous hoops to prove it’s not sharing data with the Chinese government. Yet, in a hearing over serious allegations, we witnessed a clown show. The power to legislate lies with Congress, which can pass laws anytime. But instead of taking meaningful action, they opt for theatrical hearings, creating a circus rather than addressing the issues.
This isn’t the first time big tech has been paraded in front of committees. Every year, we see the same song and dance, with politicians more interested in getting their clips for social media than enacting real change. They have the power to legislate but choose not to, relying on the public’s ignorance and emotions. They cherry-pick data to fit their narrative, creating a moral panic about social media without addressing the root causes.
The real issues lie in the outsized power and influence of tech companies, which fund lobby groups and manipulate the system to their advantage. Meta, Amazon, Google, and Apple, among others, have too much sway, and this is not just a tech issue but a broader problem with capitalism. Corporations exploit data, privacy, and user behaviour for profit, and politicians are complicit, using the same tactics for their campaigns.
The recent hearing was a prime example of this. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, among others, used the opportunity to grandstand, getting their clips for Twitter while doing nothing substantive. They hauled in families affected by social media, using their trauma for political gain without offering real solutions. If they truly cared, they would have legislated years ago.
Instead, they create a spectacle, distracting from the real issues. They complain about big tech censorship and then criticize companies for not banning enough. It’s a no-win situation designed to perpetuate the status quo. They could pass laws like the EU’s Digital Services Act, but they don’t because it would affect their donors and their own use of data for political campaigns.
The real solutions lie in addressing the root causes: economic inequality, lack of mental health resources, and the broader societal issues that drive problematic social media use. But that requires real work and genuine commitment, something sorely lacking in these hearings.
In the end, this is all about control. Politicians use these hearings to control the narrative, distract from their failures, and avoid addressing the systemic issues that plague our society. It’s a clown show, and we’re all paying the price for their theatrics.