China Lashes Out at US ‘Free Speech’ Rights As TikTok Row Deepens

After a bill to potentially ban popular video-sharing platform TikTok passed in the U.S. House by an overwhelming margin, Chinese officials have penned a lengthy article excoriating Washington over its “double standards” on First Amendment rights. “This report, by presenting numerous facts, aims to expose what ‘free speech’ is according to the United States, what the U.S. actually does, and what its real purpose is,” reads the 3,600-word piece released Thursday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. China’s most successful tech export, TikTok boasts nearly 2 billion users worldwide, including some 150 million active users in the U.S. Critics say the…