Some interesting aspects reading the bill[0] is that it defines social networks are susceptible to this bill if they're at least 10% owned (or at least have 10% voting power) by...
1. A country of concern: Any country defined as foreign adversaries (currently named are China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela)
2. A company of concern: These are explicitly defined as Bytedance, TikTok, or any subsidiary of them.
I find it interesting that this bill explicitly calls out Bytedance and Tiktok, rather than making a broader bill that's purely targeted at foreign interference. To add to this, Senator Rubio's statements [1] make things very clear that this bill is almost entirely related to TikTok. Has there ever been legislation that bans an explicitly named piece of software or social network?
1. A country of concern: Any country defined as foreign adversaries (currently named are China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela)
2. A company of concern: These are explicitly defined as Bytedance, TikTok, or any subsidiary of them.
I find it interesting that this bill explicitly calls out Bytedance and Tiktok, rather than making a broader bill that's purely targeted at foreign interference. To add to this, Senator Rubio's statements [1] make things very clear that this bill is almost entirely related to TikTok. Has there ever been legislation that bans an explicitly named piece of software or social network?
[0] https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/1ebac814-15...
[1] https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2022/12/rubio-...