{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/10/issues/women/blackburn-ernst-to-tiktok-celebrating-female-athletes-is-not-hate-speech", "Blackburn, Ernst to TikTok: Celebrating Female Athletes Is Not Hate Speech", "2024-10-10", "2024", "2024-10", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2013 U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) sent a letter to TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Zi Chew regarding the platform\u2019s decision to ban and label pro-women\u2019s sports advertisements as \u201chate speech\u201d while simultaneously allowing graphic advertisements promoting transgender surgery for minors on the platform.\n\nTikTok\u2019s Ban of Pro-Women Sports Ads Is Only Latest Example of Attempt to Indoctrinate Users\n\n\u201cWe write to you today regarding TikTok\u2019s decision to ban pro-women\u2019s sports advertisements as \u2018hate speech,\u2019 while allowing ads promoting transgender surgery for minors on the platform. This is yet another example of TikTok\u2019s attempted indoctrination of its users, in addition to instances where TikTok has deplatformed notable female athletes\u2014like Bethany Hamilton and Riley Gaines\u2014simply for advocating for fair play. These blatant examples of bias further call into question the extent to which TikTok levies its influence over Americans for nefarious purposes.\u201d\n\nTikTok Labeled Small Business Advertisement Celebrating Female Achievement in Sports as \u201cOffensive\u201d and \u201cHate Speech\u201d\n\n\u201cReporting from June indicates that TikTok banned XX-XY Athletics\u2014an American owned small business that supports biological women in sports\u2014from advertising on the platform\u2026 TikTok labeled the content offensive and, later, hate speech. The advertisement deemed hateful by TikTok was simply a celebration of female achievement\u2014using a real life example\u2014and encouraged young women to \u2018be honest and be brave.\u2019 Supporting young women should never be offensive, and it is telling that TikTok would consider a celebration of our girls in sports as worthy of being banned.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile, TikTok Allows Graphic Ads Promoting Transgender Surgery for Minors\n\n\u201cEven more troubling are the advertisements that TikTok does permit on its platform. TikTok allows woke advertisements in an attempt to mold Americans\u2019 minds on a litany of issues. One of the most concerning advertisements that TikTok allows, though, is an advertisement promoting transgender surgery for minors. The sponsored content shows a teenage girl who recently had a double mastectomy, exposing her surgery in graphic detail. TikTok allowing this advertisement to run on minors\u2019 feeds is the height of hypocrisy from a platform that suppresses conservative speech while profiting from leftist propaganda.\u201d\n\nProtecting Female Athletes Is Not Controversial \u2013 Nearly 70% of Americans Agree Athletes Should Only Be Allowed to Compete Against Their Own Biological Sex\n\n\u201cAlmost 70% of Americans agree that athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that correspond with their sex at birth. There is nothing controversial or hateful about the fact that men and women have biological differences, and any argument to the contrary is simply an attack on our nation\u2019s women and girls. Not only is TikTok a threat to every American\u2019s privacy and our national security, but it also threatens free speech and the rights of parents to rear their children in the way they see fit\u2014rights fundamental to who we are as Americans. TikTok should immediately stop their assault on America\u2019s young women and small businesses and allow companies that promote biological women in sports to advertise on the platform.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/10/issues/women/blackburn-ernst-to-tiktok-celebrating-female-athletes-is-not-hate-speech"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1497060768306255, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}