![\"TikTok](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/GettyImages-1200715713-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
Here\u2019s a short list for why Congress was so insistent on banishing TikTok from American soil: the national security risk of a Chinese company potentially accessing American data and Israel\u2019s obvious losses on the PR front:<\/p>\nPay the Cat Tax!
\nThe post The People Respond To The Proposed TikTok Ban In The Most American Way Possible appeared first on Above the Law.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a short list for why Congress was so insistent on banishing TikTok from American soil: the national security risk of a Chinese company potentially accessing American data and Israel\u2019s obvious losses on the PR front:<\/p>\n
Congress came up with an apparently foolproof solution to their problem. Banning a town hall like TikTok may pose some free speech issues but as long as we lean on the \u201cWe\u2019re doing this for National Security\u201d angle and thumb the scale at the Supreme Court, there\u2019s not much the American people can do. Right?<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, they\u2019ve forgotten two words that go at the very heart of what it means to be an American: \u201cFuck You.\u201d Spite is a big mover when it comes to explaining what makes us tick \u2014 just think about how we vote<\/a>. Even if the data we share by using apps could pose a legitimate national security risk, people are very<\/em> okay with China having their data if it means sticking it to the man. Enter Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book.<\/p>\n The app borrows its name from Chairman Mao\u2019s Little Red Book, an accurate description of a bunch of aphorisms and speeches meant to disseminate Communist Party talking points. Just to be clear, I\u2019m not saying that in the way Fox News does \u2014 that\u2019s what it actually was and was meant to do. You\u2019d be hard pressed to think of a more poetic platform for Americans to flock to in the face of government censorship. And as far as free speech goes? Looks like you won\u2019t be censored for talking about climate change worsened wildfires<\/a> or ongoing genocide<\/a>:<\/p>\n Folks are going to straight up learn Mandarin out of spite and lulz:<\/p>\n For what it is worth, Congress was right about one thing. The Chinese \u201cspies\u201d do seem very interested in American data. It\u2019s just that the data in question are pictures of the user\u2019s cats:<\/p>\n And who knows what cascading effects will come from seeing more of what life is like in China. Will the constant threats from Fox News that the woke left is trying to turn America into Communist China hit the same after the public has fled to what is effectively some of the best propaganda possible?<\/p>\n Can you imagine the whiplash from reading about congestion prices in New York and America\u2019s poor public transit<\/a> woes to seeing how advanced commutes can be?<\/p>\n Gotta love perverse incentives. There\u2019s been talk of Elon Musk pulling a King Twit and buying TikTok for something in the $50B range, but TikTok has shut that down as \u201cpure fiction.<\/a>\u201d What options are left for Congress?\u00a0 Block every international app that promises to be the new TikTok? What are we, China? Damn, we can\u2019t use that expression anymore \u2014 our public transit doesn\u2019t even hold a candle to theirs.<\/p>\n Earlier:<\/strong> TikTok Plans To Fight Censorship, Mouthy Politicians Make It Very Easy For Them<\/a><\/p>\n Pay the Cat Tax! The post The People Respond To The Proposed TikTok Ban In The Most American Way Possible appeared first on Above the Law. Here\u2019s a short list for why Congress was so insistent on banishing TikTok from American soil: the national security risk of a Chinese company potentially accessing American data and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":100330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-1200715713-scaled-XofqhW.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Williams-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s<\/a>. \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim,\u00a0a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor<\/a>, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>\u00a0and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"