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The ubiquitous social video app TikTok did not have a great day as CEO Shou Zi Chew was dragged before Congress to ostensibly testify, but really be berated, by lawmakers out for blood. In more than five hours of testimony, they painted the company as some sort of nefarious Chinese government sleeper agent, plotting against an unsuspecting public.

It is unusual for a clause in an act of Congress to develop a cult following, but Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act has. The clause explicitly says that the internet should not be treated like print or broadcast media, which means internet platforms do not bear any liability for third-party content.

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