Serendipitously, or not – depending on who you talk to, I was previously scheduled to be in DC at the moment of inflection for the passage of HR7521, the proverbial “TikToK Ban Law.” Allow me to encapsulate the issues and present the point of those who say there is nothing to worry about.
First, the context that should matter (it doesn’t because the USIC are in charge here) is that every element that preceded the passage of the Patriot Act is being duplicated in the passage of the TikTok ban. Which is to say, everyone is deferring to this ridiculous need to support USA National Security.
We The People have been burned by this approach before, yet so many refuse to see the similarity.
Second, the essential shield for those who support the bill [READ HR7521] comes down to the term “Foreign Adversary”, which is defined in the bill as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. As they make the case, TikTok ban advocates cite the content or platform of the issue must originate from, and/or be controlled by, a foreign adversary…. so quit worrying.
However, the legislative language cites Foreign Adversary Controlled Application (FACA), which applies to content providers, apps, websites, social media and hosting platforms. This is where things get sketchy, because “under the direction of” is language that is included in the legislation, and the determinations of “at the direction of” are made by the Attorney General.
If the content, platform, website, or social media app generates content that is considered a national security threat, and providing information therein that is deemed to be under the control of a “foreign adversary,” it is the content within, not necessarily the platform ownership itself, that transfers compliance inquiry to the U.S government (DOJ Attorney General) for definitions.
If, for example, a U.S. company (think Twitter or CTH) is deemed to be providing information that is controlled by Russia, or actors who participate in the platform content on behalf of Russia (expand your FARA thinking here), then the U.S. or non-Foreign Adversary designation, may result in review subject to the terms of service as created and defined by the DOJ. In this example, the “Foreign Adversary” designation is simply a nose under the tent.
The DOJ, through this act, essentially becomes the overarching determination of terms of service (TOS) that can supersede the TOS of the platform or website. Want to fight the definition or determination… prepare to spend big money fighting a battle exclusively in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, as that’s the only place you can appeal the determination of the govt.
As multiple people on the Fox News conservative side of the equation, and a host of seemingly oddly trusting voices who have previously presented themselves in alignment with common principles of freedom, all seem to accept the government would never weaponize this authority. THAT, I find frustratingly odd.
All of the totalitarians (bad people) support this bill, and almost all of the popular conservative voices seemingly agree with them. Color me frustrated.
I do not wish this post to be a bookmark for the time when “Itoldyasos” hold weight; but at this point, it seems like this is the only value in discussion. Too many people on both sides of the political continuum are in favor of HR7521 to seemingly stop it. Now it’s up to the Senate, who will find a way to make money from it and then support it.
Despite my pointing out that Joe Biden previously indicated how he would define these terms; [A conspiracy minded reviewer of the HR 7521 language should look at EXECUTIVE ORDER 14034] my reference point was met with crossed-eyes and the customary look as if a cow just licked them on the face.
(c) The term “country of concern” means any foreign government that, as determined by the Attorney General pursuant to section 2(c)(iii) or 2(f) of this order, has engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons, and poses a significant risk of exploiting bulk sensitive personal data or United States Government-related data to the detriment of the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons, as specified in regulations issued by the Attorney General pursuant to section 2 of this order.
(Section 7 definitions, item (C) – LINK Feb, ’24)
Look, I’m not nuts… and I understand how these silos of contained information work. That citation above, was created before HR-7521 was in the public psyche. What is cited above is part of a Biden intent to “Protect Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries,” and it was updated about six weeks ago.
It is almost “as if” that executive order was updated purposefully to be used in combination with HR7521. I think it was. However, DC-minded people think I am crazy for using that citation as part of the argument about how the DOJ will define the terms in the TikTok law.
From my perspective, the two issues [HR7521 and XO 14043] are directly related. They both apply to the exact same issue. I believe that recent executive order was created by people behind the Biden administration who were proactively positioning themselves in advance of the new legal authority that was going to be provided by congress in the TikTok ban. But everyone tells me I’m crazy and asks, “How the F**K did you remember that?”
♦ If you look at HR7521 from the position of intent to control online information (not data collection), and if you take a more cynical view of how HR7521 is purposefully vague, and if you overlay how XO-14043 lays out the definitions that Biden will use, then you might find yourself more in agreement with my concerns.
♦ If you do not look at it that way, then yes – CTH is a crazy conspiracy website with a track record of predicting outcomes from a crazy conspiratorial point of view. Exactly the type of website that must be under the influence of a foreign adversary, an independent way of looking at the constructs of government that end up manifesting later in our reality.
I digress.
On the intent of the TikTok ban law, everyone pretends to forget the Patriot Act intent; I don’t.
For a tldr summary; watch the video in this TWEET
What Does the TikTok Bill ACTUALLY Say? pic.twitter.com/SfpBChwdNb
— DV (@DV2O24) March 14, 2024
I don’t know how half the people on this site remember the stuff they do .
My brain can only consume so much .
After I saw the house vote numbers I knew this was a foregone conclusion.
My question Sundance,how effective is the law if the xo was cancelled?
Ok, I don’t use or like tiktok. But I don’t care if it is banned. Parents and grandparents should be monitoring everything the kids do online. Some don’t and that’s not good, but the government taking over for parents is way worse. We should try to do something about the data collection, but FB and other “American” platforms do the same thing and are just as bad.
When SD first explained the not-so-hidden language of the bill, I shared with people. But then I noticed what you are all discussing, so many on “our side” are ok with the bill. It’s “not that bad”.
I don’t like anything about the bill. I don’t even see the point of it even if it was just going after tiktok. But I have learned to trust SD’s research and instincts.
What he has added in this post makes me even more sure that he is exactly right.
Why don’t they just say they decided to make the President a dictator because it made going after your enemies and keeping control of the government so much easier? Half the country would be fine with it and the other half would be silenced.
One more thing. Whether intentional or not, it is convenient that we’ve been hearing about tiktok (it’s from China! oh no!) for a long time. Like they needed a boogy man to get Americans on board with losing more of their freedom. Yeah, SD is right. It’s like 9/11 – Patriot Act.
TikTok is the cause. Censorship and imprisonment of those who are deemed misinformationists, conspiracists, or agents of enemy states is the target. The real world result is that this is aimed directly at people who are at political odds with THEM. As Sundance noted, it’s the camel’s nose under the tent. Just as the Patriot Act constructed the national surveillance state used against Americans, so too will this monstrosity. The bottom line is, that this isn’t about TikTok; it’s about us.
Nancy Pelosi heartily approves of it. That’s all I need to know….as SD said, all the totalitarians think it’s great…good grief.
The bill is not about banning TikTok. It is about banning ANY internet company that the Attorney General unilaterally declares to be “controlled by an adversary.” There is no standard of proof required. There is no appeal or recourse. Accusation equals punishment.
(I don’t use TikTok or any of the other social media sites, never have never will. That’s not the point. Unaccountable government power is the point.)
Another motive for banning the likes of TicTok might be to clear enough bandwidth for trillions of digital denarion to live and traverse on the interwebs.
anything that can be abused by the government will be abused by the government to a level that most are unable to contemplate, appreciate, or anticipate.
government is the home to those among us stricken with a human condition/sickness that I refer to as power-mongery. whenever you are giving government a tool, these are the people who are getting it and they will need someone to use it on. that is how they “get-off.” junkies use drugs. Power-junkies use power and hurt innocent people.
Have you read snakes in suits? That is what they are!
Government is both instituted by God (Romans 13) and destroyed by God (all OT prophets). Those who get into the higher govt positions are targets of seduction. Very few emerge with their souls intact.
DC is the Babylon of today. I do not pray for it other than for it to be exposed as an example of consequence to the world. The apparatus is so reform resistant that the only way forward is a system-crashing purge with dire results.
As a retiree I am at the mercy of this vile apparatus and am fully aware of what my answered prayer would personally mean. But my soul is grieved daily by this place and letting it continue will only mean more future enslavement and deception. It must come to an end before fear of God is non existent.
ADA assurances — lotsa DC Swamp assurances…
Can the mods check the waste bin please. I am missing a few AM comments with extra links here.
So, when the bill says 20% foreign “ownership” of an entity, does that mean that the US Government would be in violation of this bill because foreigners/foreign corporations own more than 20% of federal debt? And as such, can We The People take over our Leviathan government as a result? Would citizens even have standing to sue? What about State or local government debt with 20% foreign “ownership?”
Patriot Act was the codified beginning of the final piece to the NWO. Once upon a time around 2007 there was a Congressional chorus to repeal it. Some kind of come to Jesus meeting was done where all those voices went silent and never resurfaced. It would be good for the American people to know what caused The US Govt to become nothing more than eunuchs grabbing money for themselves.
Put sunlight on that Sundance. Even those who have left Congress carefully avoid the subject.
The TikTok Ban is a Trojan Horse! Don’t give Guvmint the power to carve out huge pieces of the Public Square!
This is a Leftist trap!