Since I’ve spent my adult life first teaching about the Constitution (in the classroom) and then teaching about the effects of media (doing Media on the Brain seminars), the proposed TikTok ban provides a unique intersection of two of my greatest interests.
We recently posted a video short on the Belt of Truth Facebook page and the Belt of Truth YouTube page containing our opinion of TikTok - and of social media generally - as harmful to young people particularly.
With that criticism offered, it's not a surprise that Big Tech throttled down this particular post; that throttling prompted us to seek better platforms like this one to share this message.
Read the following verbatim commentary from the video short; or watch the video HERE.
So, should the government ban TikTok? It's the big debate in Washington D.C. right now.
I'm coming at this from the standpoint of having done over 400 live seminars teaching on the effects of media. And I can say with definite certainty that social media (especially TikTok) is harming our young people - their mental health; their social abilities and EQ; and harming their future.
However, here's my opinion at least: The government shouldn't be banning TikTok. Parents should be banning TikTok.
Watch The Media Mind at BeltofTruth.tv, and you'll see why. The subtitle is Reclaiming the Human Soul in the Digital Dark Age.
But I believe in liberty and free speech, and we don't need the government going beyond the Constitution and banning things like this. That's a dangerous precedent. It's cold outside. I'm gonna go in.
What's your opinion? Should parents ban TikTok in their homes?
The argument for the national ban is of course national security from the CCP threat. Is that a legitimate pretext for a federal TikTok ban?
Constitutionally, do Article 1 Section 8, the First Amendment, or the Tenth Amendment have anything to say on the topic?
Under what circumstances is there a constitutional basis for suspending constitutionally limited government? And which branch of government declares war under the Constitution? (And are these questions even relevant anymore - i.e. has the government already repudiated nearly every principle of our Constitution anyway?)
A separate topic to discuss: If social media is harming mental health, and if Big Tech is generally quite evil, are we compromising our principles to post the truth on these platforms or are we simply working while the day lasteth?
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