The ruling class is going to do everything they can to increase their control over what people can see on the Internet. The support for Palestine took them by surprise and they are in panic mode over the possibilities that exist online for the sharing of information and experiences across borders, the extension of solidarity between oppressed peoples everywhere.
@babadookspinoza That's exactly why AIPAC funded the TikTok ban (oh sorry, "mandatory divestment bill").
If they did decide to sell to an American company, which iirc they said they wouldn't, the American government and other American corporate interests get to fully own and control them. That's the end-goal of the TikTok bill.
@blake
> the American government and other American corporate interests get to fully own and control them. That's the end-goal of the TikTok bill
My first reaction is to agree. It seems akin to the CCP insisting that all online platforms in China must be at least 50% Chinese owned. So there are arms under their jurisdiction that can be twisted, to make sure those companies follow orders in the "people's" (ie CCP's) interests.
But actually, neither the US government nor the CCP needs domestic ownership to exert control. Both the US and the EU have laws applying to any business serving their citizens as customers.
The CCP controls cross-border money transfers, which it can use to exert control over foreign companies. I've experienced first-hand how hard it is to move even small amounts of money out of China (I was an expat worker there for 2 years).
Add comment