Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is calling out Media Matters and the 18 companies that are boycotting the social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter) but remain on TikTok.
The boycott is due to an alleged anti-Semitic reply that X’s CEO Elon Musk sent out concerning identity politics and the Jewish community.
Sen. Rubio believes if these 18 companies care about their public image this much, then they would recognize the horrors of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its connection with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
In a letter to the CEOs of the 18 companies, Sen. Rubio writes that the CCP is “a brutal group” that looks to undermine the American way of life.
“Due to your company’s apparent concern for its image on social media, I was fascinated to learn that it maintains an active presence on TikTok. That social-media application, through its parent company, ByteDance, is under the jurisdiction and influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a brutal group that seeks to weaken our country and subvert our way of life,” said Rubio.
Additionally, the Florida senator wrote that TikTok and its content are tainted to “serve the interests of the ruling CCP,” including moderation of topics such as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
“There is little doubt that TikTok is manipulated to serve the interests of the ruling CCP. For example, TikTok instructed moderators to censor content about Tibet and the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Users who brought attention to the CCP’s genocide of the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups have been censored and banned,” said Sen. Rubio.
He continued later on, “Following the logic of the X boycott, your brand is now in imminent danger of being tarnished by association with the deranged, genocidal content found on TikTok…. I am appalled by the double standard of boycotting an American social-media application while maintaining a presence on a social-media application controlled by America’s greatest adversary.”
Finally, Rubio ended the letter by stating that he “takes no position” regarding whether companies should boycott X or not. But he does believe that “if your company believes it is necessary to cut ties with X, I expect you to cut ties with TikTok, as well – and soon.”
The companies addressed include Apple, Google, Disney, Microsoft, IBM, Lionsgate, Walmart, Comcast/Xfinity/NBC Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros, Airbnb, Uber, Coca-Cola, Jack in the Box, Netflix, Amazon, The Washington Post, and Sony Pictures.
