Dr. Casey FieslerMar 23, 2023
As your resident TikTok micro-celebrity + tech ethics/policy professor, I have a lot of feelings about the proposed TikTok ban. I think that this statement from Evan Greer of Fight for the Future articulates some points well. If the sole argument is "but China" I would very much like to see something beyond speculation. And if it's just not that, then go after Meta too. And either way maybe you could pass LITERALLY ANY DATA PRIVACY LAWS.
Show threadElizabethMar 23, 2023
@cfiesler seems like this is just about protecting trade secrets. We are the trade secrets.
Show threadWoozle HypertwinMar 23, 2023

@Elizabeth3 @cfiesler

What do they even mean by "ban", though? (I haven't gone hunting for the text of the bill, but I'm not sure I'd be able to parse out the relevant bits even if I did.)

Show threadDr. Casey FieslerMar 23, 2023
@woozle @Elizabeth3 The bill itself doesn't do anything directly; it gives the secretary of Commerce the power to ban foreign technologies and companies from operating in the US if they present a threat to national security.
Show threadAnti-Fatalist
@cfiesler @woozle @Elizabeth3 And by "national security" they just mean *capitalism*, because this isn't about 'national security' since capitalism ITSELF is the threat to us and the government is literally only set up as the means of the bourgeoisie to protect their preferred system (and profits) against its abolition by us, and they do this by massive state violence.
Mar 24, 2023 at 3:55amTusky
Show threadWoozle HypertwinMar 24, 2023

@rbe_expert

That seems like a good summary of the situation, yes.

@cfiesler @Elizabeth3