TikTok and the punishment of "future crime".

[usonian]

Last edited Thu Apr 25, 2024, 05:53 PM - Edit history (1)

It's so much worse than crime committed every day.


You probably know all about the Sell or be Banned (after the election) law.



And the arguments for and against it, summarized here:

https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-ban-bill-is-first-amendment-disaster-may-survive-courts-2024-4

Legal experts say the TikTok divest-or-ban bill could stand up in court despite being a free-speech disaster


What I found intriguing was towards the end of the article:

Congress hasn't proven that an outright sale or ban of TikTok is the only way to protect national-security interests. Other less severe efforts like a national data privacy law could solve some of its concerns without limiting speech, for example.

"The government bears the burden of pointing to an important interest in instituting this law," said Ramya Krishnan, a senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which filed a legal challenge against Texas's state-device ban last year. "There's the onus of showing that it could not achieve its interest in narrower ways."

OR BROADER WAYS.

I believe that a data privacy and ownership law like EU's (less the detestable popups on every web page) not only solve the security problem, but also give the average person a gigantic boost in privacy and ownership of their own damn data.

In short, this law punishes TikTok for a crime which hasn't been committed (or DOJ would have stepped in) but which may be committed in the future. Why, it's like taking guns away from people who may (or may not) have crime on their minds, or better yet, punishing poor people who might be the most inclined towards petty theft.

Conversely, crimes of the century, such as massive theft of classified documents require a great deal of deliberation, and exploration of loopholes.

Begin {sarcasm}

But, let's definitely hold foreign-owned companies to the standards of U.S. social media companies, which don't spy on Americans, sell their data to any buyer, nor do they spread Russian or Chinese propaganda.

End {sarcasm}

Now, I'm not taking sides, just watching people exercise, such as:
• Jumping to conclusions
• Stretching the facts
• Bending the law
• Running down foreigners

Seriously, why can't TikTok sell my data to China when Facebook, Google and Twitter et. al. will sell it to anyone with money and a "verified" account?



And don’t forget that Orange Julius tried to ban TikTok by executive order, which the courts rejected.
So, he has played both sides on this, which is “normal” for the abnormal.

[Elessar Zappa]

1. Yes, a data privacy law is sorely needed.