A social media app from China is said to be luring our teens in ways that American platforms can only dream of. Gen Z has wasted half its youth on pranks, makeup tutorials and videos of babies being called talking like old people. Now things are about to get even worse for computer wizards allegedly employed by hostile governments. Ban this “digital fentanyl,” the argument goes, or the republic might fail.
As a result, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024, which requires Chinese company ByteDance to either break up TikTok or see it banned.Separating companies from apps is said to solve this problem other The problem is often blamed on TikTok: the circle links American users’ profiles to the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok argued that the loop has been severed because U.S. users’ data is now stored at Oracle in Texas. Congress countered that this was about as credible as a TikTok baby talk episode.
If Congress knew anything about the Communist Party Must tell! The Homeland Security Threat Assessment Color Chart from the 2000s is tanned, rested, and ready to go.But shutting down a company just because of rumors – that’s really yes Ugly imports from China.
Those pushing for TikTok regulation believe the app’s problems go far beyond the challenges posed by kids burning their brains on Snap, Insta/Facebook, Twitter/X, Pinterest, YouTube/Google and other blue web giants.exist MusicianHenry Hill plunges a peaceful town into madness with his lively take on the darkness that might be lurking in an arcade. Today, we were told that TikTok is foreign-owned, it is addictive, its algorithms may favor anti-American themes, and it leaves American users vulnerable to backdoor data theft.
Although the bill would ban TikTok in the United States if ByteDance is unable to transfer the TikTok platform to a non-Chinese company within nine to 12 months (which the company has said it will not do), the market predicts that the ban is only likely to take effect. twenty four %. ByteDance has filed a lawsuit. This is supported by the fact that First Amendment rights also apply to speakers of foreign origin, as U.S. courts have repeatedly explained.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera acquires the entire U.S. cable channel Current TV (part owner Al Gore made $100 million on the sale in 2013), expanding its offering to 60 million American households. Free speech dominated and the market dominated: Al Jazeera gained only a small audience share and bowed out after a few years.
write on free pressRep. Michael Gallagher (R-Wis.) — a co-sponsor of the TikTok bill —claim Since the Chinese Communist Party allegedly “uses TikTok to promote propaganda and censor views,” the United States must take action to stop it. This recognition of China’s “governance system” shows that we are unaware of the beauty of our own system.We can use our free media to fight propaganda (including free press). Most helpfully, the congressman pointed out the abhorrent views promoted by those in power in China: about Tiananmen, Muslims, LGBTQ issues, Tibet, and other issues.
Our federal jurists would do well to follow Gallagher’s case Opening words with TikTok: “More and more Americans are relying on it for news. Today, TikTok is the most important search engine More than half of Gen Z.
Rather than calling out potential threats, enemies of TikTok should report any actual lies or breaches of trust. If it constitutes a crime (such as illegal misappropriation of user data), such misconduct should be prosecuted by the authorities. Yet national security experts here often go AWOL.
New York Times Reporter David Sanger, perfect weapon (2018), provides a spectacular backdrop. Around the summer of 2014, U.S. intelligence agencies discovered that a large state actor (officially presumed to be China) had hacked into U.S. servers and stolen the data of 22 million current and former U.S. government employees. More than 4 million of those victims lost highly personal information, including Social Security numbers, medical records, fingerprints and security background checks. The U.S. database is not encrypted. It was such a sensational flaw that when the theft was eventually discovered, it was noticed that the existing material had been (bizarrely) encrypted, an upgrade carefully provided by the hackers in order to carry out the theft covertly.
Here’s the killer: Sanger reports, “The government has never owned up to the 22 million Americans whose data was lost—unless it was an accident.” Victims simply received a note that “some of their information may have been lost.” , and got a credit monitoring subscription. This in itself is a ruse. The hack was determined to be a hostile intelligence operation because the stolen material was not sold on the dark web.
As a result, large numbers of U.S. citizens—including undercover agents—may have been compromised by China. This has ended careers and continues to threaten victims without compensation or even real disclosure.
National Security Director James Clapper inadvertently acknowledged the administration’s remarks: “You have to salute what the Chinese did.” At a 2016 hearing weeks later, Arizona Republican Sen. John John McCain drilled Clapper on the vulnerability, demanding to know why the attack went unreported. Clapper’s answer? “Because people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” An angry McCain couldn’t believe it. “So they can steal our most important secrets because we live in a glass house. It’s shocking.”
U.S. officials have trampled on free speech by keeping the American public in the dark about real violations while raising concerns about potential violations. TikTok bans are fool’s gold. The First Amendment is pure genius. Let’s keep one of them.
