Edward Snowden Joins Elon Musk In Opposing TikTok Ban: 'Censors, Speech Police, Book-Burners...'

Edward Snowden, the former computer security consultant for the National Security Agency, has voiced his support for Elon Musk’s opposition to a potential TikTok ban in the United States.

What Happened: On Monday, Snowden responded to a post from Elon Musk, owner of X, in which Musk expressed his opposition to a proposed ban on TikTok in the U.S. “In the Old America, we grew up being taught that censors, speech police, book-burners—these were symbols by which an un-free society was recognized,” Snowden tweeted.

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This comes in the wake of a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that could potentially ban TikTok, a popular social media app owned by ByteDance. The bill has raised concerns about infringement on the free speech rights of American users.

Why It Matters: Musk’s opposition to the ban is based on his belief that such a ban would contradict the principles of free speech and expression, values that he believes the U.S. “stands for.” He stated, “In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform.”

Snowden has previously criticized the singling out of TikTok due to its links to China, calling it “entirely the wrong move.” Instead, he suggested that the practice of privacy violation should be banned, saying, “Make the systematic and exploitative collection of people’s private details unlawful. Under *any* flag.”

The potential ban on TikTok could impact the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, according to a statement from TikTok. The social media giant expressed its concerns about the potential infringement on the free speech rights of American users, stating, “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans.”

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