Asked by an Occasional Reader if I thought Tik Tok should be banned in the U.S., my simple answer: Yes. If only because China would not allow a similar App in China, from America, under any circumstances, at any time. I’m a big believer in Reciprocity, and this would be one area to push that.
That aside there’s the issues not just with security of data, but -- rarely mentioned -- an algorithm that is very persuasive. They can push a “Heat” button, literally, to make any topic repeat and influence young minds. It doesn’t take much to imagine how this could be used against the US, especially in an election. Much more than the dopey memes that Russia paid for in the 2016 election and which had virtually zero influence, by all available studies.
But the Act that’s meant to ban Tik Tok doesn’t even mention Tik Tok. It does make it illegal to have an VPN on your machine on paid of $US 1 million fine and 20 years in jail. That’s outrageous. I have a VPN on my machines, used now and then, if there’s an article that I can’t get to direct. And in China, every visitor downloads a VPN to get around the Great Firewall. So this Act would be more restrictive, more censorious, than China. China doesn’t stop you from getting a VPN. If the US passes the Restrict Act, I’d be seriously at risk if I visited the US with my iPad and iPhone with their VPNs installed. And if we think the US won’t use the powers in the Act, just look at what’s happened to Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.
Ban Tik Tok. But not with the Restrict Act.
ADDED: Jimmy Dore has a go at the Restrict Act. It’s true: it’s scary.
