In a recent Washington Post report it was noted that proponents of AICO were enlisting social-media influencers to garner support and get their message across. The videos in question reportedly garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
Using TikTok and Instagram to pass anti big-tech legislation is rich with irony. TikTok is a direct competitor with a number of the companies targeted by AICO. As a content platform, it competes heavily with Google — which owns YouTube — for viewers and ad revenue. As a social-media platform, it also competes for users with Facebook. The very fact that TikTok is a prominent enough platform that AICO proponents are taking advantage of its market position to push their agenda demonstrates the absurdity of the claim that any of the companies targeted by the bill constitute a “monopoly” in any sense of the word.
The newest episode of the Capital Record is out, with guest Michael Matheson Miller of the Acton Institute. Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.