At the Copenhagen Democracy Summit earlier this week, Knight Institute Executive Director Jameel Jaffer debated with Hong Kong Democracy Council founder and activist Nathan Law about the implications of government TikTok bans.

Jaffer set the stage by noting that “authoritarian and other rights-abusing regimes all over the world are using national security as a pretext for restricting their citizens’ right to access foreign media, including social media,” emphasizing that “we should be very careful about giving that kind of power to our own governments,” and concluding that a ban would “restrict freedoms that are the lifeblood of an open society.” 

Watch the full debate here.