Tiktok, location, geopolitics

The US Congress is trying to force Tiktok into the hands of US owners – otherwise the app will be shut down. The author Paris Marx describes the case in his newsletter as pure power and location politics in the USA. The US power move has nothing to do with “disinformation”, espionage or possible Chinese influence, which is the sole focus of the public debate. I find it a bit one-dimensional because these topics are certainly relevant and, as with all platforms, may be even more prominent in the case of Tiktok. However, the dimension that Marx considers is otherwise usually lost in the reporting, as most of those who write about it uncritically buy the story of the manipulative China app from US politicians. Marx points out that the US government is the central one Supported the role of US companies in building the Internet from the start. The Internet is essentially a US soft power. Which is why the rise of one of Silicon Valley’s first notable competitors – China’s tech industry – is seen as an intruder into traditional territory. At the same time, the US government repeatedly uses its power to protect “its” tech companies from the heavy hand of other countries – including in the EU, where it acts as a lobbyist for the industry. And the question of whether China has access to Tiktok Americans spied on? Marx puts this into perspective by saying that China can simply buy data on Americans from data brokers – just like the US government. In any case, they are not a moral authority to protect people from Internet surveillance – see Snowden and the NSA, which tapped into the Internet. US companies like Facebook and Co. took part – just as the USA is currently accusing Tiktok of doing. A worth reading assessment of the big struggle over Tiktok that will still make waves in this election year. And that gives a foretaste of the battles for the communication spaces of the future.