this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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I can't believe so many people are cool with the federal government censuring specific platforms. It's one thing if we wanted to ban an action through law (e.g. data harvesting or shipping it overseas) but it's another to silence a specific piece of software.
Imagine if Congress passed a bill saying Steve can't recommend movies to his friends anymore.
Being worried about CCP controlled apps is a sensible concern. Banning a single app (because Mark Zuckerberg is upset that it’s stealing his customers) is not a helpful solution.
I'm not saying that's not concerning (it's why I won't use it). I think what they can do with widespread analytics and pseudonymous data collection is... potentially impactful in ways we can't foresee.
But the Bill of Rights does not only apply to US citizens. And targeted bans are just a tool of government censorship that I'd rather not see wielded by politicians. I think the only reason it's targeted is because they either don't have evidence of the negative behavior or they're unwilling to ban the it because it would impact domestic platforms.
The bill of rights isn't relevant here. TikTok is not a person foreign or domestic (citizens united not withstanding).
This would be hardly any different from the thousands of import bans the US has used over the years. It's just an app instead of a physical good.
Import bans are similarly terrible, in the vast majority of cases.
We put import restrictions on groups of things. We ban cheese from France. We don't ban cheese specifically from Jacques Cheese Emporium in Lyon but all other French cheese is okay.
Hey, I'm okay with banning the import of all Chinese social media apps if you are 🙂
If Steve is a genocidal authoritarian asshole who, in the process of recommending movies, plants listening devices around your home, GPS trackers in your clothing and keyloggers on your computer while browsing through your underwear drawer and file cabinets, I don't think he's very good company. Steve might start by showing you Airplane! and Blazing Saddles but once you're drawn in by the entertainment, he'll sit you down for the Wolf Warrior movies, Amazing China and The Battle at Lake Changjin.
Ban Steve, he can keep pushing his agenda on his own family back home. That's still not an ideal situation but this at least is reasonably within our rights and capabilities.
But in that case, it would be a far better option to ban anyone from placing keyloggers on your computer and GPS trackers in your clothing, because that not only stops Steve from doing it, but also Steve's cousin Alex, and anyone else who would want to do so.
Absolutely, we should do that too.
I had never heard of Wolf Warrior, looks sick! Thanks!