this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2024
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If it was actually about privacy then the US would be introducing data transparency and control laws (which only kicks in here if TikTok doesn't sell to a US company). Whether it's the US wanting to stream their own bullshit to kids or just that sweet sweet ad revenue, this is in no way about privacy or "protecting the children".
That's a separate issue that could not be addressed with this kind of law anyway.
How so? If you're concerned about propaganda, require every company operating within the US to show users exactly what data is collected and allow them to delete any or all of it as desired. Show users to the technical extent possible what data has connected them to suggested videos or ads. Put the power of users' hands to understand and control how they are targeted.
That would be a very different kind of law from the one we're talking about.
My point is, why isn't that the law were making? Does it not address the same problem?
Not exactly the same problem. In the same way that gun control doesn't address the problem of hostile foreign militaries. Yes, both involve guns, but the laws and policies that address one are inapplicable and inappropriate to the other.
The law in question addresses the problem of foreign adversaries having easy access to manipulate US public opinion. The law you suggest addresses the problem of advertisers having that access. Both are serious concerns, both need to be addressed, but they are not the same problem and the solutions are markedly different.