[vkou]

> they're using it as a straight unimpeded funnel to subvert the west.

And Fox News is also a foreign-owned straight unimpeded funnel used to subvert democracy, which sows division and conflict in our society.

It's done orders of magnitude more harm to it than TikTok ever has.

When are we banning it?

[seanmcdirmid]

Rupert Murdoch got US citizenship because of foreign ownership rules. From his wiki page:

> On 4 September 1985, Murdoch became a naturalized citizen to satisfy the legal requirement that only US citizens were permitted to own US television stations.

[vkou]

I am pretty sure a Chinese-American owner would be considered Chinese for the conversation about foreign control over TikTok.

[seanmcdirmid]

China doesn’t allow for or recognize dual citizenship, so it doesn’t matter unless they also gave up their Chinese citizenship (rumor has it the CPC relaxed this rule for a certain snowboarder). But ya, that Murdoch is also Australian is probably benign.

[vkou]

Nothing about Murdoch's politics is benign. They've done more damage to democracy worldwide, but particularly in the US, than China ever will.

Speaking of hostile foreigners, a prominent South African was just giving the crowd a few Nazi salutes at the inauguration. Is that also benign? At what exact point do we start observing that the enemies to democracy are inside the house?

[seanmcdirmid]

Ok, Murdoch’s Australian citizenship would be seen as benign, unless you are going to tell me that Australians are as dangerous as Murdoch in general?

[vkou]

They are about as dangerous as Chinese Americans, which is to say, not at all.

Particular people are problematic. But you can only judge that by actions, not by their country of birth.

Which is what makes this foreign manipulation rhetoric and ban rubbish. It refuses to identify what the bad actions it's trying to protect us from are, it's just a lazy, prejudiced rubric that gives the most egregious ones a free pass, because they have the right color stripes on their pin.