👀 Axios PM: D.C. is trending

Plus: What we hate | Thursday, March 23, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Meta   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Mar 23, 2023 🙌 Hey there, Thursday. Today's PM — edited by Kate Nocera — is 612 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.     📱1 big thing: TikToking the TikTok hearing Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios As lawmakers ripped TikTok in a congressional hearing with the company's CEO today, the app's users took to the platform to defend it, Axios' Erin Doherty reports. Many members of Congress are pushing for a ban on the viral video app owned by private Chinese company ByteDance. A hashtag — #tiktokhearing — garnered 2.8 million views as of 3:30 p.m. today. "What is currently going on in Congress I think is straight-up fearmongering," said creator @Tegareacts, who encouraged her 3.9 million followers to reach out to members of Congress to discourage a ban. User @drue..b, who has 1.2 million followers, said in a video posted this week: "I have made so many friendships. I have met so many new people [through the app]." Some strategists and activists warn that a widespread ban on the app — which has 150 million monthly active users in the U.S. — could be politically risky for Democrats. "If they went ahead with banning TikTok, it would feel like a slap in the face to a lot of young Americans," Aidan Kohn-Murphy, a creator who used the app to support President Biden in 2020, told NBC News. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew before testifying at the House Energy and Commerce Committee today. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images But at the hearing, members were unequivocal that they view TikTok as dangerous and a national security threat, Axios' Ashley Gold reports. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) at one point said TikTok's issues were a matter of "life and death." "ByteDance is beholden to the CCP, and ByteDance and TikTok are one and the same," said Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), accusing the platform of lying about ties to the Chinese government. CEO Shou Zi Chew said ByteDance is a private company, beholden to shareholders and its board, not the Chinese government. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said the day was "dominated by political grandstanding." "[T]he livelihoods of the 5 million businesses on TikTok or the First Amendment implications of banning a platform loved by 150 million Americans" went unmentioned by the committee, she said. Go deeper.     2. 😡 What we hate: QR menus Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images The results of Axios' informal survey of COVID changes at stores and restaurants are in: Readers say they despise the move to QR menus the most — with many complaining in all caps. "I HATE QR code menus. Savoring the menu is an important [part] of the dining experience," said Linda D., from Lake Forest, Illinois. "Hate QR — if I'm out, I want to get OFF of my phone," wrote Sally K. from Oakland, California. Another reader pointed out it's very unlikely you'd get COVID from a menu. What do we love? The clear winner was curbside pickup and increased delivery options. Share this story.     A message from Meta Augmented reality will help firefighters with search and rescue     One day, firefighters will use the metaverse to navigate burning buildings more quickly. The result: Crucial seconds can be saved when lives are on the line. The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real. Explore more possibilities with the metaverse.     3. Catch me up Beachgoers walk past seaweed in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images 🌊 A 5,000-mile-long, 12 million-ton seaweed bloom is starting to wreak havoc on Florida's beaches. Go deeper. 📚 Attempted book bans in 2022 reached an "unparalleled" 20-year high according to the American Library Association. Go deeper. 📄 Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office sent a scathing response to the House GOP's request for testimony about his investigation into former President Trump, calling the request "an unprecedent[ed] inquiry." Go deeper.     4. 🐢 Meet the Pickles The baby tortoises. Photo: Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo The oldest animal at the Houston Zoo just became a father of three. Mr. Pickles, a 90-year-old radiated tortoise, and his partner, Mrs. Pickles, 53, are now the parents of Dill, Gherkin and Jalapeño, Axios Houston's Shafaq Patel reports. Why it matters: Mr. Pickles is the most genetically valuable radiated tortoise in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan, making his offspring an important contribution to the future of this critically endangered species. Plus: They're adorable. Share this story.     A message from Meta Field trips in the metaverse will take learning beyond the textbook     Students learning about prehistoric eras will use virtual reality to take field trips to the Ice Age and visit the woolly mammoths. What this means: Students will not only learn their history lessons — they'll experience them. Explore more possibilities with the metaverse.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: