As you in all probability observed, the Home simply passed the controversial ban on TikTok, with 352 Representatives in favor, and 65 opposed. The invoice is now more likely to be slow-walked to the Senate the place its probability of passing is murky, however potential. Biden (which has been utilizing the purportedly “harmful nationwide safety risk” to marketing campaign with) has said he’ll signal the invoice ought to it survive the journey.
The ban (technically a compelled divestment, adopted by a ban after ByteDance inevitably refuses to sell) handed via the home with greater than a bit assist from Democrats:
Not talked a lot about in press protection is the truth that nearly all of constituents don’t actually support a ban (you recognize, the entire consultant democracy factor). Help for a ban has been dropping for months, even amongst Republicans, and particularly among the many youthful voters Democrats have already been struggling to attach with within the wake of the bloody shitshow in Gaza:
Because the underlying Pew data makes clear, quite a lot of People aren’t positive what to consider the hysteria surrounding TikTok. And so they’re undecided what to suppose, partly, as a result of the collapsing U.S. tech press has accomplished a largely abysmal job masking the story, both by parroting bad faith politician claims in regards to the proposal and app, or omitting key necessary context.
Context like the actual fact the U.S. has been too corrupt to pass an internet privacy law, leading to years of repeated scandal (with TikTok being arguably among the many least of them). Congress has been lobbied into apathy by an enormous coalition of cross-industry lobbyists with limitless budgets. However the U.S. authorities can also be disincentivized to behave as a result of it abuses the dysfunction to avoid having to get traditional warrants.
The press has additionally been typically horrible at explaining to the general public that the ban doesn’t truly do what it claims to do.
Banning TikTok, however refusing to move a helpful privateness legislation or regulate the info dealer {industry} is entirely decorative. The information dealer {industry} routinely collects all method of delicate U.S. client location, demographic, and conduct knowledge from an enormous array of apps, telecom networks, companies, autos, good doorbells and units (many of them *gasp* inbuilt China), then sells entry to detailed knowledge profiles to any nitwit with two nickels to rub together, together with Chinese language, Russian, and Iranian intelligence.
Usually with out securing or encrypting the info. And routinely underneath the false pretense that that is all okay as a result of the underlying knowledge has been “anonymized” (a completely meaningless term). The hurt of this regulation-optional surveillance free-for-all has been obvious for many years, however has been made even more obvious post-Roe. Congress has chosen, time and time once more, to disregard all of this.
Banning TikTok, however doing completely nothing in regards to the broader regulatory seize and corruption that fostered TikTok’s (and each different corporations’) disdain for privateness or client rights, isn’t truly fixing the issue. Actually, as Mike has noted, the ban creates completely new issues, from potential constitutional free speech violations, to its dangerous impact on online academic research.
I’ve mentioned more than a few times that I feel the continuing quest to ban TikTok is generally a flimsy try to switch TikTok’s fats revenues to Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Oracle, or Fb underneath the pretense of nationwide safety and privateness, two issues our comically corrupt, do-nothing Congress has repeatedly demonstrated in vivid element they don’t have any real curiosity in.
TikTok creators appear to know this higher than the gerontocracy or the U.S. tech press:
None of that is to say that TikTok doesn’t truly pose some privacy or national security problems.
But when Congress had been actually critical about privateness, they’d move a privateness legislation or regulate knowledge brokers.
If Congress had been critical about nationwide safety, they’d meaningfully combat corruption, and positively wouldn’t assist a multi-indictment going through authoritarian NYC actual property con man with a fourth-grade studying stage for fucking President.
If Congress had been critical about combating propaganda (international, home, company, or in any other case) they’d impose extra meaningful updated education standards, fight harmful consolidation in native TV broadcast “information,” and shield and finance tutorial and journalistic establishments underneath relentless assault by authoritarians, AI-wielding hedge fund bozos, and incompetent brunchlords.
So when Congress pops as much as declare it’s taking intention at a single fashionable app as a result of it’s instantly tremendous involved about client privateness, propaganda, and nationwide safety, skeptics are proper to steeply arch an eyebrow. You notice we will see your voting histories and coverage priorities, proper?
Xenophobia, Protectionism and Data Warfare
The GOP motivation for a TikTok ban has lengthy been apparent: they imagine TikTok’s rising advert revenues technically belong, by divine proper, to white-owned U.S. corporations. However the GOP additionally sees TikTok as an existential risk to their ever-evolving online propaganda efforts, which have develop into a strategic cornerstone of an more and more extremist, authoritarian celebration whose insurance policies are broadly unpopular.
The GOP is ok with rampant privacy abuses and propaganda — supplied they’re those violating privateness or slinging political propaganda. You’ll recall Trump’s large authentic repair for the “TikTok drawback” (earlier than a proper wing investor in TikTok lately changed his mind, for now) was a cronyistic switch of possession of TikTok to his Republican friends at Walmart and Oracle.
Former Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his Saudi-funded Liberty Strategic Capital is already laborious at work putting investors together to buy the app. If the GOP (or a proxy) manages to purchase TikTok, they’ll have interaction in each final abuse they’ve accused the Chinese language authorities of. TikTok will likely be transformed, like Twitter, right into a proper wing surveillance and propaganda echoplex, the place race-baiting authoritarian propaganda is just not solely unmoderated, however inspired.
All underneath the pretense of “protecting free speech,” “antitrust reform,” or no matter newest flimsy pretense authoritarians are presently utilizing to persuade a gullible and lazy U.S. press that they’re working in good religion.
Why Democrats would assist any of this stays an open query. The ban would probably support GOP propaganda efforts, piss off younger voters, and promote the celebration (which had truly been faster to embrace TikTok than the GOP) as woefully out of contact. All whereas not truly defending client privateness or nationwide safety in any significant approach. And creating completely new issues.
Democratic assist for a ban appears largely motivated by lobbying stress from Fb/Meta, which has been utilizing the same knobs the GOP and telecom industry used to destroy net neutrality to seed little moral panics around DC for several years. Fb/Meta is, if it’s not clear, solely excited by having the federal government destroy a competitor it hasn’t been capable of out-innovate.
Nationwide safety, client privateness, or good religion worries about propaganda don’t enter into it.
Some Democratic Reps, like Ro Khanna, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sara Jacobs appear to know the lure, preserving the deal with a necessity for a federal privateness legislation that reins within the privateness and surveillance abuses of all corporations that do enterprise within the U.S., international or home. Some senators, like Ron Wyden, have labored laborious to make sure equal consideration is paid towards rampant data broker abuses.
However 155 Home Democrats voted for the ban, both as a result of they’re corrupt, or they’ve completely no concept how any of this truly works. Pissing off your constituents by ruining an app utilized by 150+ million (largely younger) People throughout an election season is definitely a selection, particularly given negligible constituent assist–and rising proof it probably creates extra issues than it professes to unravel.
A TikTok Ban Is A Pointless Political Turd For Democrats
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