Keen On

Internet scholar and activist Ethan Zuckerman is horrified by the American ban on TikTok. As a self-described “progressive” with a long and distinguished career advocating for internet freedom, Zuckerman expresses alarm at how the U.S. has moved from defending unfettered access to information in the 1960s to now being willing to ban popular Chinese platforms like TikTok and perhaps even DeepSeek. He suggests the ban stems from the anti-China hysteria and exaggerated fears about social media's impact on young people fueled by paranoid critics like Jonathan Haidt. If this trend toward online censorship continues, Zuckerman warns, America will become indistinguishable from other authoritarian states in its disdain for digital freedom. Here are the 5 KEEN ON takeaways from the interview with Zuckerman:* The TikTok ban represents a dramatic shift in American values - Zuckerman points out that the US has moved from defending unfettered access to information (even Communist propaganda) in 1965 to now being willing t