PAUL: TikTok Ban 'About Controlling Speech and Expanding Government Power'

President Donald Trump just launched his own channel on the platform. #40

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September 17 is currently the deadline for the TikTok ban in the United States, if its parent company ByteDance does not sell its stake to an American buyer. President Donald Trump extended the deadline to this date in June.

The TikTok ban was passed by Congress in April 2024 and was signed into law by President Joe Biden. Trump was originally in favor of it.

But then something changed. When Trump extended the deadline in June, it was the third time he had pushed it back.

In fact, this week, the White House launched its own TikTok account.

Supporters of the TikTok ban argue that the popularity of the Chinese-owned company is a threat to U.S. national security.

Rand Paul says that’s a copout. The senator shared a video shared on X on Tuesday of some of his past defenses of the platform, emphasizing that the ban is really more about “controlling speech and expanding government power.”

The U.S. Government is Just ‘Protecting’ Americans?

Paul said, “I think we should be aware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties. To regulate and limit our First Amendment rights.”

Then a clip of TikTok ban supporter, Sen. Josh Hawley played, demanding that the law be implemented “nationwide” to “protect the security of every single American.”

Got that? The federal government is just looking out for the “security” of Americans.

Like the Patriot Act? FISA courts? Maybe Biden’s ‘Disinformation Governance Board?’

Paul doesn’t buy it. “If you’re going to ban TikTok, what’s next? I hope saner minds will reflect on which is more dangerous: videos of teenagers dancing, or the precedent of the U.S. government banning speech.”

“This is something we should be very wary of,” Paul added. “We should be wary of people who peddle fear. We should beware of people who peddle half-truths.”

“Have faith,” he insisted. “Have faith that Americans are smart enough to hear bad ideas and reject those ideas. Have faith that our desire for freedom is strong enough to survive a few dance videos.”

In January, Sen. Paul introduced a bill to repeal the TikTok ban.

In January, the Supreme Court ruled that Biden’s TikTok ban was constitutional, carving out alleged national security risks as an exception to the First Amendment.

Paul disagrees with that, telling Reason after the court’s decision, “I've been fighting against the TikTok ban since the idea came around a couple of years ago. I think it's part of an overall hysteria on the hill about China, and also a misguided approach to wanting things to be better. They think, "Well, we'll just tell China we don't like them doing this, and we'll put sanctions on them, we'll ban their stuff, and then they'll do better." I think it's actually the opposite. I think the more you ban trade, the more you separate yourself, the more you ban things like TikTok, the worse relations get. The less likely they are to do things you want them to do and the more likely, frankly, the ultimate worst outcome of war is.”

He added, “In that context, I've opposed the TikTok ban… I do think it infringes on free speech. I think the [Supreme] Court got it wrong. I don't think there's a national security exception to the First Amendment. I think [the Court] listened to the First Amendment arguments and they just said, "Oh, well, if Congress says there's a safety concern, we'll listen to Congress."

No Ban

Paul also said, “The reason of the repeal bill now is that many of the people who voted for this, now that [President] Donald Trump has changed his mind, they all seem to be changing their mind, too.”

That was in January. A half year later in August 2025, there has seemed to be a lot of minds changing on this front, maybe including the White House, where the president has already shown a reluctancy multiple times to ban the platform.

Donald Trump just doesn’t launch his own TikTok channel for nothing.

May the president use the platform to spread his message far and wide. May American users continue to do the same.

Let TikTok users decide what speech they like, and what they don’t, not the U.S. government. That’s how free speech works. That’s what freedom requires.

Americans don’t need the government to protect them. We need it to stay out of the way.