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Why are these fringe cases? If anything these are the obvious cases where the CCP can use data they have on you (i.e. who your family members are, your history
by andreilys 6y ago
Why are these fringe cases? If anything these are the obvious cases where the CCP can use data they have on you (i.e. who your family members are, your history of criticism, etc.) and use that to silence you.
- idrios 6y agoYeah, but it only works when they have some kind of leverage on you. A very lazy google search tells me that there are about 4 million Chinese Americans, which is 1.3% of the population. So 1.3% of Americans could be manipulated this way. That is a lot, and I think 'fringe' is hyperbole, but I still agree with the sentiment that the typical American can feel pretty safe from China. Expats and Americans with family or friends in China are obvious exceptions, as are people who have sent explicit photos or had affairs on Chinese apps, and people who are in debt with Chinese companies. Those are what comes to mind for me, and maybe there are more ways China could threaten an individual in the US, but I still think it's at most 5% of Americans who could be personally targeted by China (and I do think it's good to ban TikTok because I do not want that number to go up). Meanwhile US surveillance affects 100% of Americans. We have stronger rights and don't have to fear being disappeared for dissenting, but mass surveillance has the power to suppress or misdirect speech and there are entities in the US that are figuring out how to use that.