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> Note there is a difference between saying one thinks TikTok is a national security threat to the USA, and saying one thinks the U.S. government should ban it
by wbillingsley 6y ago
> Note there is a difference between saying one thinks TikTok is a national security threat to the USA, and saying one thinks the U.S. government should ban it (or so on).
In this case, I'm not convinced there is - the nature of the alleged national security threat is very different from security threats in the past.
From recent actions in Hong Kong, it has been evident that the CCP will arrest and imprison people for criticising the CCP. If the suspicion is that the app gives the CCP access to vast amounts of information (including people's political views via their posts) on individual members of the public, including on the Chinese diaspora (placing relatives at risk in China or they themselves if they visit them) that is a different category of "national security threat". It's not just that it makes political or military strategy harder, or even that it foments domestic dissent (foreign propaganda of the past). The allegation is it directly puts civilians in jeopardy.
If the conclusion is that the app is such a threat (puts civilians in jeopardy to a foreign government), it would be odd to support its presence in app stores, used in playgrounds, etc.
- luckylion 6y agoThat's really far fetched though. Consider this: the CIA kidnaps and tortures people. They can look at Facebook activity. Therefore, all countries should ban Facebook because it might lead to their citizens being kidnapped and tortured by the CIA. That's equally far fetched and I don't think anybody is seriously arguing for it.
- wbillingsley 6y ago> Consider this: the CIA kidnaps and tortures people You're clearly a lot more invested in this than I am. I'm not aware of any CIA kidnappings; I am aware of news headlines on HK media executives being arrested and am aware that the Chinese government is heavily invested in monitoring the views its diaspora express in a way that the US government isn't. (If an American called Trump a goose, they'd probably get upvotes. If someone called the Chinese leader something they might have more problems.)
- luckylion 6y agoKnowledge gaps can be filled: https://www.ecchr.eu/en/publication/cia-extraordinary-rendition-flights-torture-and-accountability-a-european-approach/ https://www.ecchr.eu/en/publication/cia-extraordinary-rendit... Yes, the quantity is different, the quality I'm not sure about. Are Chinese internment camps worse than Gitmo or Abu Ghraib? The Chinese have apparently kidnapped people off the street as well, but not in Western states to my knowledge. That's different with the US, though maybe they haven't kidnapped anyone in China or Russia.