The Dangers of Banning TikTok to the Cybersecurity Community
Tik Tok now has a year to sell if this holds appeal but is it the right move or the lazy one, a few short thoughts about the Tik Tok Law while I am on passover break.
While on passover break, I sit by the pool and read a lot of comments and felt the need to really write something before the Sabbath about this very topic.
A celebration broke out earlier this week in Congress, the Senate, and the White House. The celebration should be short-lived. We sent billions of dollars in aid to foreign nations; I am going to leave my comments on this topic out of this article, but the DC machine added a poison pill to the bill called the TikTok Ban, representing government interference in free commerce.
The TikTok ban sets a dangerous precedent that could cripple how the government tackles foreign-owned businesses in the United States. What is happening to TikTok could happen to any company under foreign ownership that the government determines undermines US national security, thereby forcing its hand in free commerce.
I don’t have a TikTok account, and I am an outspoken critic of the platform and the Chinese influence on American and Western youth using the app, but I would be blind to celebrate this.
This is the lazy way out for the political elite by making this deal. Trump was wrong 5 years ago, and Biden is wrong today. This is what the two have in common.
The fact is, this will be challenged in the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court will overturn this law as unconstitutional because it is, and the legal precedent here is grave. It infringes on the very fabric of the American economy and the American dream.
Imagine you live abroad and invent and build a great business. You move to America and are extremely successful, challenging companies in America for users and customers, and you are winning some of them. Those companies start to lobby to ban you, saying your business is a danger to public safety and security, and the government needs to intervene to save the poor American people from the evil of your ownership. Then Congress passes a law and the President signs it, forcing you to sell your US company to one that's approved by the US government. The law is written with so much gray area that it could apply to any company in the future. This is a bad idea!
TikTok is dangerous, and there needs to be a real overhaul of these algorithms and access to all social media platforms. Here are some ideas on how to solve these issues:
All social media platforms must receive parental consent for anyone opening an account under 18.
All social media platforms must exclude dangerous content like violence, sex, drugs, alcohol, and others from users under the age of 18.
All social media platforms must show their feed algorithms to an independent counsel assembled to validate that it is following the laws in place.
All social media platforms should limit the feed's length to ensure unlimited scrolling down isn’t available for teens.
A robust data privacy law that ensures all user data of minors and adults isn’t sold outside the United States of America, with strict fines and punishment for companies that violate this law.
I keep talking about teens as I believe once you have reached the age of 18, you are free to do as you wish and that includes access to technology.
I don’t pretend even in the least that I can solve this problem, but I also see the dangers of the government selling its people an idea that we should ban TikTok or get rid of its owners. It’s a farce, and it won’t last long as the Supreme Court will intervene as TikTok will sue and hopefully highlight the dangers of the government banning or forcing foreign-owned companies to divest from their businesses.
Care to comment and I will share more thoughts next week after I finish my Passover break.