this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 85 points 9 months ago (17 children)

We’ve been covering many stories about a potential TikTok ban, including how unconstitutional it clearly is, how pointless it clearly is, and how even those who back it don’t seem to have a good explanation of why, beyond some vague handwaving about “China.”

The bill isn't nearly as bad as they want you to think. It bans companies in Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran from operating social media apps in US markets, forcing them to sell if they already do. These four countries are already restricted from accessing sensitive parts of the US economy, with forced sale being a legal option. Really, the only novel part of the bill is applying these kinds of restrictions to software.

And the bill doesn't actually punish or restrain users' speech. It does restrain the social media company's speech, but that may not be enough to overturn the bill on 1st amendment grounds. If you understand that social media exists to collect vast amounts of user data then you must also understand how the government has a legitimate interest in keeping that data out of an adversary's hands. The only real question is whether the government has a compelling interest, because that's the standard that a court would apply to this bill. And I daresay it might.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (4 children)

So they are going to put in place some hard data collection and selling regulation, right? Right?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The question is irrelevant to whether this bill is a good idea.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

What are your sources saying the reasoning for the bill is?

https://archive.is/Iu8yu

https://archive.is/hu22e

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Which forces Tiktok to sell or be banned, correct? The issue I see is: why not just create regulation for the root problems instead of just focusing on that app? The only reason I can see, is that their priorities do not lay with protecting people, but forcing a foreign business to sell it's IP to strictly American companies. Wether that decision has to do with the intentional or unintentional promotion of the US's direct involvement in the genocide in Gaza or just Big social media companies lobbying for the removal of a competitor, we can only speculate. Both sides are doing their best to push this bill, when have the (R)s collectively banded together to create positive change? The point being, reading the bill is cool and all, but you do have to ask, "Why target a specific company instead of the alleged problems of foreign adversaries getting their hands on our data?" If we had hard data collection and selling regulations, it would not only allow them to ban predatory apps (foreign or domestic) but also ensure sensitive data cannot even reach our enemy's hands.

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