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So, I feel like we already have a mechanism as a country for working with a different country who is producing something that might be harmful to American busin
by iwanttocomment 3y ago
So, I feel like we already have a mechanism as a country for working with a different country who is producing something that might be harmful to American business or politics, one that doesn't functionally impact our free speech principles. A tariff.
Just tax TikTok. Make Americans pay money to subscribe to it. Apply the same principle to any other social media entity based in another country. It's that easy.
- martinky24 3y agoThis is misguided and naive. The real world analogy is closer to Huawei 5G systems -- thinking about it in that context, the reasoning behind the ban makes more sense. This isn't a "capitalism based harm" that tariffs are intended to fix, this is a "national security based harm" that's being targeted. You can debate the merits of whether or not TikTok is a threat to national security, but under the supposition that it is, tariffs are not the correct lever to pull. So, it's not "that easy". I like the smugness though.
- iwanttocomment 3y agoI'd be with you if there were any indication why TikTok specifically would be banned while other Chinese social media entities or those from other countries that might be deemed national security threats are not - apart from sheer popularity, which would likely be resolved by said tariff. The US did not merely ban Huawei, it was part of a broader national security concern, where ZTE was also banned as part of the equation, and conceivably other major Chinese telecommunications firms with a strong enough foothold in the US would have been (or will be in the future) as well. Not to mention, use of TikTok is entirely an individual choice, a telephone network user does not choose (or have knowledge of) the origin of the devices their communications are transmitted through.