The Econ 101 way to look at it. In the real world, it also promotes domestic production, creating jobs and often helping "nascent industries", and in many cases ultimately leading to even lower prices over the long term as domestic industry matures. This is how basically every advanced economy industrialized. See the work of South Korean economist, Ha-Joon Chang.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1032019.Bad_Samaritans
>people want to use the platforms they enjoy using, because they're all free anyway
Agree with the first part, but one's attention is hardly "free". It is, in fact, the ultimate opportunity cost when squandered on these services.
Is it? Maybe in the short term (and I'm not even convinced of that) but in the long term?
In the long term, I don't want the US to fund China. Period. You can pick your reasons from a smorgasboard: human rights abuses to basic reciprocal market fairness to government subsidization of companies. We tried engagement--it's time to admit it failed.
TikTok being banned should just be one of the things that occur. Manufacturing should get pulled from China. Anything shipped from the China to the US should have a tariff on it. etc.
The first best time to act should have been before we outsourced everything. The second best time to act is now.
Were you talking about the US here, or China?
So, answer your own question.
1. US has the world's highest incarceration rate, with minority populations extremely overrepresented.
2. The US subsidizes its agricultural products to an extreme degree, but forces poor countries like Mexico to drop subsidies that were integral to its food security and economy.
You were saying?
When a govt imposes trade tarriffs, it's effectively taxing it's own citizens to disincentivize them from purchasing those goods, steering towards others.
When a govt imposes bans, it's preventing it's own citizens from using a service. Yes there's an economic angle to the supplier of the service, but this isn't a financial transaction where a person would vote with their wallet to use the cheaper alternative. This is the attention economy, people want to use the platforms they enjoy using, because they're all free anyway.