Killing free speech — and literally also — stealing TikTok from its Chinese owners

© 2024 Peter Free

 

15 March 2024

 

 

Pillaging plunderers?

 

Regarding Congress's attempt to squelch China's capitalistically successful TikTok social media platform, we see that the United States has become both:

 

 

(a) the opponent of our Constitution's effort at protecting free speech

 

and

 

(b) a bunch of sore-loser thieves.

 

 

Regarding the attack on free speech

 

The just-passed House of Representatives bill gives the US president the power to determine what's a threat to American security  — when it comes to a foreign-owned or controlled media entity.

 

Quoting bill H. R. 7521 at section 2 (g) definitions — at its subpart (3) foreign adversary controlled application — subpart (B) — (see page 10 of the document, here):

 

 

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 . . . .

 

 

We see that the US president can whimsically and in king-like fashion decide what is bad and what is not.

 

Given that the American president is fully controlled by the Deep American Police State, you can guess what sort of additional repression this legal precedent is going to enable.

 

Particularly so, when its logic is extended to domestic matters.

 

 

Second — regarding being a sore loser

 

The House bill forces TikTok's Chinese owners to sell the media platform to Americans. We are, evidently, jealous of China's capitalistic expertise.

 

Notice that TikTok is, reportedly, the number one social media platform, when assessed by the total time spent on it.

 

TikTok comes in sixth, when assessed by its number of users.

 

So naturally, Congress and America's corporatist grifters are in favor of stealing it.

 

This sort of skullduggery is, apparently, our free market principle in action. If we can't keep up, then destroy or steal our competitors' works.

 

Recall how American Government treated Huawei, in a similar fit of lost-market jealousy?

 

 

The moral?  — Attacking free speech and engaging in blatant thievery . . .

 

What could possibly be more American in the 21st century?

 

 

Well perhaps, starting wars all over the place.

 

As well as fully participating in Israel's quasi-genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

 

 

Not very persuasively 'America the Beautiful', are we?

 

Iran's label for the United States, The Great Satan, sadly carries rational perception's weight.