Meredith WhittakerMar 13, 2024

This is both terrifying and deeply, deeply stupid.

This isn't just about TikTok. The bill gives USG the power to ban any old foreign-owned media/tech they designate as adversarial.
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-house-vote-china-national-security-8fa7258fae1a4902d344c9d978d58a37?taid=65f1bb38c2c1680001c4da1b&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter

House passes TikTok ban bill, but its Senate path unclear

The House has passed a bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn’t sell. Lawmakers are concerned the company’s current ownership structure is beholden to the Chinese government and poses a U.S. national security threat. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman accuses Washington of resorting to political tools when U.S. businesses fail to compete. The House bill now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear. TikTok has more than 170 million American users and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd. A TikTok spokesman is criticizing Congress for being too secretive.

AP News
Show threadMeredith WhittakerMar 13, 2024
This, at a time when we're facing a second Trump term, when we're already seeing alarming censorship & limits on expression (book banning, LGBTQ resources, etc.) at the state level, where a McCarthy-era environment is in effect for pro-Palestinian speech...
Show threadMeredith WhittakerMar 13, 2024
If this were about privacy & security, then they'd be targeting Facebook, Instagram, etc as well. But they're not. This's about control & I'm not ok with ANY government exercising such control, particularly (as the US here) over the 'rest of world' via US-homed Big Tech platforms
Show threadOskar

@Mer__edith

I get the privacy concerns about TikTok, but it's not as if China can't just buy very similar data on the open market.

If it was about privacy, perhaps they should crack down on THAT...

The propaganda possibilities provided by putting the thumb of the scale of the amplification algorithms is to me the more worrisome aspects of TikTok (and X, Meta, Google, etc)

Mar 13, 2024 at 8:21pmWeb
Show threadMisuse CaseMar 13, 2024
@austegard @Mer__edith This is what I keep saying, Meta can sell your data to a data broker who can turn around and sell it to China! This does not solve the problem of China getting your data! But a lot of folks who are like “TikTok is owned by the Yellow Peril country” don’t want to hear it