Zuckerberg Talks TikTok in D.C.: The Information’s Tech Briefing

For some time, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has raised red flags about the threat he believes Chinese tech services like TikTok pose to free speech. What, then, was Zuckerberg after when he brought up his concerns about Chinese internet companies and TikTok in meetings last year with President Trump and lawmakers?

What he didn’t ask for was a government ban of TikTok, a Facebook spokesman tweeted in response to a story in The Wall Street Journal about the meetings. Zuckerberg told Facebook employees much the same thing in a meeting earlier this month, reported on by BuzzFeed, in which he said a U.S. ban on TikTok would set a “really bad long-term precedent.” He seemed to worry that a TikTok ban could open the door to another country shutting down Facebook to its citizens.