Ballad of the TikTok Ban

from Bearing Witness by David Rovics

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The pretense for concern in the US Congress for our privacy or about disinformation might be laudable if it were at all real.

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Debate rages from Brussels to DC
Which app do the kids like best?
Is it promoting democratic values
That we all uphold and cherish in the West?
Like freedom, democracy, selling advertisements
And getting rich people elected
Does it have the algorithms that brainwash the best
And get the right politicians selected?

Yes, scandal after scandal doesn't matter
There's no limit to all we can afford
For any company stacked with former cabinet members
From the White House on their corporate board
Appeasing all the wishes of the Pentagon
Conducting business there on California soil
They may just be in it for the profit
But to God and country they are loyal

Because Facebook's not a Chinese corporation
There's no need to ban or block
It's run by patriotic American billionaires
Unlike TikTok

Look at a video on YouTube
Within a few recommendations
You'll be seeing lies on the subject of your choice
It isn't true but it's good for scintillation
Whatever keeps us all glued to the screen
It's well understood
Whatever lines the pockets of the billionaires
It must be well and good

Because YouTube's not a Chinese corporation...

Scroll through your feed on Instagram
As their own studies attest
The more time you spend on the platform
The more lonely and depressed
But as long as they can use your emotions
To encourage you to spend and buy
It must be OK, it's the American Way
Be a patriot and don't ask why

Because Instagram's not a Chinese corporation...

As the billionaires make more billions
And the tent cities grow and grow
As we look at our phones and see what the billionaires
Want us to do and know
As we hand off our communications
To our masters, Sili-con
As long as it's red, white and blue
Then we know which side it's on

Because it's not a Chinese corporation...

credits

from Bearing Witness, released April 19, 2024

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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