But the bill that the House passed and the Senate will likely pass ;and Quid Pro Joe will likely sign is too broad.
The problem is specific to TikTok . The algorithm allows TikTok to collect user data ;as most social media sites do ,and to distribute the data . For a user of Fakebook that means you get annoying popup ads about subjects that your data shows you have an interest in .
But in the hands of the Chinese ;American personal data is being collected AND they use it as a propaganda tool to influence Americans and shape the domestic debate . Yes it is everything that we opposed about social media being used as a government tool in the US; in the hands of a nation with hostile intent . So the site becomes a national security issue.
Yes TikTok needs to be banned in it's present form in the US . So what is the problem with the bill on the docket ?
The swamp critters got their hands on the bill . So it is not specific to TikTok.
Madam Mimi sounded the warning .
“This is not an attempt to ban TikTok, it’s an attempt to make TikTok better,”
House passes bill that would ban TikTok if its Chinese owners don't sell the popular app - ABC News (go.com)
And if that is all it was then sign me up. But Rep Thomas Massie voiced a counter point that is just as concerning .
"Some of us just don't want the president picking which apps we can put on our phones or which websites we can visit."
GOP Rep. Massie says TikTok bill would not address 'root problems' (nbcnews.com)
So I looked at the bill in more detail.
Text - H.R.7521 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
What is "foreign adversary control ? The bill mentions TikTok but then adds
(B) a covered company that—
(i) is controlled by a foreign adversary; and
(ii)
that is determined by the President to present a significant threat to the national security of the United States
Controlled means
(A) a foreign person that is domiciled in, is headquartered in, has its principal place of business in, or is organized under the laws of a foreign adversary country;
(B) an entity with respect to which a foreign person or combination of foreign persons described in subparagraph (A) directly or indirectly own at least a 20 percent stake; or
(C) a person subject to the direction or control of a foreign person or entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
So foreign adversary controlled really means anything the President determines is foreign adversary controlled.
As Michael Tracy writes in 'Newsweek'
The bill names TikTok as a "foreign adversary controlled application," with the "adversary" in question being China, but it also goes further and prohibits "applications" associated with the standard litany of official U.S. "adversaries"—Russia, North Korea, and Iran. More additions to the list are always possible, perhaps in the event that Cuba or Venezuela develop a short-form dance video app that becomes suspiciously popular with American teens.
Another provision authorizes the President, who is currently
Joe Biden and may soon be
Donald Trump, to make unilateral determinations about whether certain applications "present a significant threat to the national security of the United States," and therefore must be banned like TikTok. The criteria for making such a determination is left conspicuously vague.
So if you really want to give Biden or Trump more unilateral power to control the proliferation of content online, this appears to be just the bill for you.
Banning TikTok is a Power Grab for the Deep State | Opinion (newsweek.com)
And of course this will all go down just in time for the fall election campaign .
Homeland security became a real need when we saw the gaps in the system that led to the 9-11 attacks . So bills were swiftly introduced to address it . But the idea of homeland security became abusively broad and morphed into the huge powerful agency it became ..... The rights sacrificed never fully restored .
My advice would be for the Senate to send the bill back to the House with suggestions to considerably narrow the bill to the issue at hand .