Ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps in the US. Continuation of a story

Hello.

Donald Trump administration tried to force ByteDance to sell US TikTok business, President

The United States did not hesitate to tell the public abouthow he forced to sell the business for a penny. And how much money did it save customers. But due to various political moments, the TikTok buyout did not happen. From the outside, all this looked like an act of state racketeering; American officials did not show any embarrassment. Free market? Rules of the game set for everyone? No, there was nothing of the sort. But accusations that Chinese developers simply physically cannot help but collect data about American users sounded constantly. In the heat of the moment, politicians even admitted that China is copying America's behavior, which means that there is no need to prove anything - we are collecting, which means they are definitely doing it. The beauty of our world is that the powerful no longer bother to collect evidence and try to present it to the public. What for?

At the end of 2022, American politicians gotthe Trump story has been shelved and the need to alienate the American TikTok business has been re-discussed, the influence of the social network on the mindset is too great, and local corporations cannot defeat it in a direct collision. The arguments have not changed in any way, but it is not possible to push this idea through centrally. Hence the phased pressure at the state level, involving governors who support a trade war with China.

Here's an example for you, just appointed in OhioGovernor Mike Devine signed a ban on the installation and use of Chinese applications for government employees. Full list of banned apps:

Tencent QQ
tencent video
QQ International (QQi)
Qzone
WeChat
Weibo
Xiao HongShu
Zhihu
Meituan
Toutiao
Alipay
Xiaomi Music
Tiantian Music
DingTalkfDing Ding
Douban
Renren
Youku/Tudou
Little Red Book
Zhihu

The tactics followed in the US arepublic pressure and the creation of a narrative that Chinese companies are dangerous, they steal user data, use it to manipulate public consciousness. That is, in fact, the actions of various governors, and there are a little less than a dozen of them, are not aimed at destroying the business of Chinese companies, their impact on real business is minimal. We are witnessing the public creation of a myth, which will then be used as evidence of the malicious intent of the Chinese developers. The task is to create a wave, stir up public opinion.

But at the same time, Americans use TikTok asplatform for entertainment, information search and earnings! That is, they build their own small candle factories, in which serious money is spinning. And therefore, a total ban on TikTok is impossible, it will directly affect a huge number of Americans. Before the 2024 presidential election, such a ban looks suicidal, it is pointless to assume that politicians will decide on it. Perhaps they are setting the stage for negotiations to sell the business, but the last time shows that China is determined to protect its interests. At the same time, ByteDance, in theory, is ready to sell its American business, and is considering such options. But the fact is that it is between a rock and a hard place, China will not allow it to be done painlessly, the company is a hostage to political ambitions from both sides.

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I'm sure TikTok and other appsChinese developers collect the same amount of information or less than American companies that create social networks. And here it is funny to see how politicians try to avoid any comparison with their own applications, so as not to highlight the same approach.

The moment at which the TikTok attack occurs is notthe best, public initiatives against all social networks without exception are gaining momentum in America. A characteristic attack is the handling of the lawsuit of public schools in Seattle. Lawsuit filed against Google, Meta*, Snap, TikTok. Here is an excerpt from the lawsuit: "Defendants have successfully harnessed the vulnerable mental faculties of youth by engaging tens of millions of students nationwide in positive feedback loops about the overuse and abuse of Defendants' social media platforms." As part of the lawsuit, demands are made to compensate for the damages for those who have suffered from the actions of the companies.

A crisis is a great time when differentorganizations are trying to improve their business, including by attacking large companies. And this, among other things, gives an exposure of information to public opinion, conflicting discussions arise. Formulating a social problem, we can say that it sounds simple: social networks are evil or good? And it is impossible to answer this question directly. Society in America is divided, and different aspects are affected here:

for many, social networks are evil, a waste of time, vitality;
for many, this is inexpensive advertising, an opportunity to do business;
for politicians, this is a lifesaver that allows them to win elections and maintain their reputation, bypassing the mass media;
for the majority, this is the medium of communication that they choose themselves.

Total interests are mixed in one tangle toomany, which creates an ambiguous landscape, and it is impossible to predict how the actions of the same politicians will change it. There will be no rejection of social networks, it is impossible to believe in it. Greater control, limitations of algorithms, the need for external and independent control - all this will happen. But no more.

Pay attention to the revelations on Twitter, ElonMusk provided access to internal documents, in particular, about Russian interference in the 2016 elections. It turns out that it was not there, it is impossible to consider a dozen blocked accounts with minimal coverage as such. This is precisely the narrative that was created against Trump in order to make Russian interference in the elections a fact, a proven fact. In principle, this is what eventually happened, the average American has no questions whether there was such an intervention or not, he sincerely believes that it took place. This issue has been discussed too much in the past.

The ideal scenario for politicians today iscreating pressure on Chinese companies, taking control of local companies in the United States, that is, creating jobs, collecting information, and the list goes on. And, of course, a win in the field of national security, when we can say that we managed to protect everyone who did not even think about how vulnerable he was to the insidious Chinese.

In the USA there is a concept of digital colonization of the world,all countries are perceived as vassals of technology companies from America. And all information that is created outside the United States is perceived as the property of the United States, since it was created with the participation of American technologies. The main task of the country is to maintain its leadership in this area, not to let its competitors raise their heads, and at the same time limit their opportunities in other markets. Hence, such a sharp reaction to the successes of Chinese companies follows - they simply repeat the steps of the Americans, which is unacceptable in the concept of the American world. In the US, they set such rules of the game only for themselves, everyone else must follow them and not try to collect information as such, this is prohibited by the unspoken rules. And their violation is punished in this way - an attempt to create maximum problems, the destruction of companies. Almost no one knows that American companies made several attempts to buy out Yandex and de facto destroy it, the actions of the state blocked even a hint of such a possibility. This is the usual way of doing business on the part of American politicians who use their own business to maintain technological leadership. But it can be said for sure that the world has changed, the digital decolonization of the world has begun and it has covered different regions of the planet. While large countries are at the forefront, but small ones can also join them, the question is awareness of the problem, and in most cases it is not.

*Meta Platforms, which includes the social networks Facebook and Instagram, has been recognized as an extremist organization and banned in the Russian Federation.

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