Living for Solana's live tweets from the hearing today. All partisanship aside, I would usually come down on the side of giving people more and not less options and on the side of more and not less speech. But on this issue, it's reciprocity that seals the deal. China doesn't allow any US social media apps - they're all banned, no Facebook, no Twitter, ditto for Google, YouTube, Insta, Snap and Slack. Those are just social media apps too - try accessing ANY US media behind the Great Firewall. Knowing that, I fail to see why we should err on the side of free speech here. Banning the app hurts very few but will definitely cause pain in China. Continuing to allow it benefits who in a very real way? Draw the line - shut it down.
They may appear to be enemies today, but what’s the bet they’ll all be friends tomorrow: “TikTok is happy to censor because TikTok leaders don’t adhere to American free speech norms. And neither do many of our Congressmen.”
I was going to comment on PW’s last post on banking and the new operation choke point as why I’m happy I became a paid subscriber, but then this came in.
As if the Twitter Files were not revelatory enough to explain why adults have been so fucked up the last several years, the rise in TikTok use by children is equally revelatory for how they are turning out.
Thanks very much for the live tweeting and this excellent summary. Your tone helps ease our pain as circumstances force us to support suppression of free speech.
Sooo, this was the one that made me a paid subscriber!! Thanks for what you do - can't find too much valid journalism anymore but I'm glad I found your stack.
Am I naive for feeling bad for a guy building a company getting crushed between two unappeasable super powers? Or has he liked crawled over a pile of dead bodies to make an algorithm that feeds into short attention spans and I just don’t know that?
Solana’s rhetorical “where are the parents?” and Crenshaw’s imploring kids not to be so cavalier about privacy seem close to the only cogent comments all day.
Living for Solana's live tweets from the hearing today. All partisanship aside, I would usually come down on the side of giving people more and not less options and on the side of more and not less speech. But on this issue, it's reciprocity that seals the deal. China doesn't allow any US social media apps - they're all banned, no Facebook, no Twitter, ditto for Google, YouTube, Insta, Snap and Slack. Those are just social media apps too - try accessing ANY US media behind the Great Firewall. Knowing that, I fail to see why we should err on the side of free speech here. Banning the app hurts very few but will definitely cause pain in China. Continuing to allow it benefits who in a very real way? Draw the line - shut it down.
They may appear to be enemies today, but what’s the bet they’ll all be friends tomorrow: “TikTok is happy to censor because TikTok leaders don’t adhere to American free speech norms. And neither do many of our Congressmen.”
‘Nuff said--thanks Mike!
I was going to comment on PW’s last post on banking and the new operation choke point as why I’m happy I became a paid subscriber, but then this came in.
As if the Twitter Files were not revelatory enough to explain why adults have been so fucked up the last several years, the rise in TikTok use by children is equally revelatory for how they are turning out.
I’m going for a walk now.
Thanks very much for the live tweeting and this excellent summary. Your tone helps ease our pain as circumstances force us to support suppression of free speech.
Sooo, this was the one that made me a paid subscriber!! Thanks for what you do - can't find too much valid journalism anymore but I'm glad I found your stack.
Am I naive for feeling bad for a guy building a company getting crushed between two unappeasable super powers? Or has he liked crawled over a pile of dead bodies to make an algorithm that feeds into short attention spans and I just don’t know that?
Solana’s rhetorical “where are the parents?” and Crenshaw’s imploring kids not to be so cavalier about privacy seem close to the only cogent comments all day.
Surreal