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by Spooky23 521 days ago
It’s offensive to the notion of free speech as Americans profess to respect.

If the capabilities of these services are so dangerous, we should have laws and rules to control the danger. Instead we’ve done some nationalist cowing to send a message, and we’re arm-twisting Zuck to adapt Facebook to the political expediency of the moment.

2 comments

> It’s offensive to the notion of free speech as Americans profess to respect.

The issue has absolutely nothing to do with free speech. China's CCP spying and conducting psyops is not free speech, and forcing China to sell it's controlling position on TikTok has nothing to do with free speech.

That's, amusing enough, the propaganda that's being pushed onto you, which even forces you to criticize a policy that you failed to even be informed about it's rationale and main points. You're fooled into believing that eliminating one of China's attack vectors is somehow an attack on free speech.

That's a misread, tiktok speech .. eg eating toxic Tide Pods for competition .. can be gotten and made in the USA still.
That’s not the point.

Where does it stop? Should my company by eyeing a switch to Oracle services because SAP is German?

The questions in the message I responded to were:

> offensive to the notion of free speech

And, something about New Law (vs Policy enforcement by administrator of agencies or political elected leadership positions), to prevent damage from speech .. via Facebook.

I wanted to fast-forward past this second question, as I think it's a red herring here -- Facebook Management and their operation in the USA is not legally beholden to the government of China. Tiktok is, so it's different. So I rejected the second question.

Then back to the first, the notion of free speech and taking offense. I recognize free speech is not total, as I understand my rights here in the USA. And I see corporations as existing Only by sanction of government. Therefore the authority still rests within the State to moderate corporate behavior.

Tah dah .. that's why I think it's the correct point.

What am I overlooking?

Then, the hypothetical (?) about Oracle and Germany, yes. If your company reasonably can expect to be seen to be working with a partner, that's offering services similar to Oracle, and which is legally obligated to the worldwide operation constraints of an enemy of the state of your company's incorporation (USA), like China, then yes.

Service operators are responsible for following the law in locales they are operating in. Other than existing, what law is TikTok violating?

I’m all for controlling propaganda. Where are the rules?