by Jeffrey A. Tucker
The American Institute for Economic Research
The Trump administration announced yesterday that it might follow India’s lead and ban TikTok for Americans. There is some sense in which this seems inconceivable. So far the protectionism frenzy on the part of the Trump administration has bypassed software products, at least until they went after Huawei, which at least offers a physical product.
TikTok is pure digits, a platform that seems silly (I could stand it for a couple of days only) but actually has inspired tremendous artistic creativity among the young generation.
Its use in the U.S. has exploded since the lockdowns. Can’t go to school. Can’t go to the park. Can’t hang at the mall. What else to do but dress up as a large fuzzy shark and filter a dance through a wacky mirror lens?