| It's hard to know how to feel about this complex situation. On one hand: - The Chinese government clearly has its tendrils in TikTok and uses it to push its oppressive censorship policies around the world - The security implications of giving China a backdoor into a large percentage of American phones is too concerning to ignore On the other hand: - Explicitly targeting specific companies feels wrong. If security and censorship are real concerns here, Congress should be passing laws that apply to all companies, not just TikTok - Even though there are sound reasons to restrict TikTok, this is still a transparently protectionist policy by the Trump admin and fits right into his nationalistic, totalitarian, xenophobic playbook. A broken clock is still right twice a day, I suppose - Requiring a sale to an American company is the mirror image of China's forced technology transfers for foreign companies. Two wrongs don't make a right I think the best scenario is for Congress to preempt Trump with laws that protect American security and free speech interests without executive action. That's easier said than done, though. |