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A comment on Lawmakers shift gears on TikTok ban. Parent comment

Re:Lawmakers shift gears on TikTok ban by rchaud on Monday October 09, 2023 @02:48PM (#37823796)
National security arguments can only go so far without falling afoul of Constitutional principles. Earlier versions of this bill failed because their breadth made it clear it could be used in situations not involving China or other 'bad' tech actors.

A blanket ban on "Chinese tech" is immeasurably broad, and would harm legitimate business interests. Should Microsoft, Cisco and Oracle stop doing business in the country if they're selling products and services to Chinese tech firms?

Correspondingly, Tencent has holdings in many American companies, Reddit and Twitter being two. Should Reddit be forced to buy out their holdings?

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Re:Lawmakers shift gears on TikTok ban by digging on Monday October 09, 2023 @03:29PM (#37824325)
> Correspondingly, Tencent has holdings in many American companies, Reddit and Twitter being two. Should Reddit be forced to buy out their holdings?

I mean, yeah maybe. If there's a real national security risk it would make sense. Not that I think either of those companies are in any way trustworthy, but let's not compound the dangers to the public with CCP interference.

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Re:Lawmakers shift gears on TikTok ban by rchaud on Monday October 09, 2023 @04:14PM (#37824919)
> If there's a real national security risk it would make sense.

Precisely. But as it stands, they even haven't made a case against Tiktok, let alone private investments by Chinese companies.

There's nothing stopping the DOJ from laying charges against Tiktok US (the corporation) if there's evidence of contravening US law. But there is plenty of political hay to be made by suspecting that there might be. What laws, you ask? That too hasn't been clear, which helps explain why these bills fail again and again.

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