There is only one way to look at this, and that’s what it is. It’s the president and his administration searching for any route to re-election and thus abusing any power he has towards that goal. It could also be collusion in which Trump is trying to personally profit or have supporters profit.
The security angle is theater. Many American corporations gather and abuse much more data than any allegations against TikTok and WeChat. And if people are really worried about foreign monitoring, then there are millions of cameras and microphones embedded in baby monitors, pet feeders, home security cameras, and other smart devices, all foreign made and networked. Some claims of influence could be made in TikTok, but there’s literally nothing stopping that from happening on platforms owned by U.S. companies, where it’s been proven to have happened and is still currently happening. So that argument doesn’t apply. If it does apply, it applies to a much broader app landscape than just TikTok and WeChat.
So in the end, everyone debating this thing as if it is an actual intelligent thing to be discussed is just adding legitimacy to Trump grasping for re-election and another one of his chaotic moves. There are actual problems but those are only plastered onto this whole deal by externals. The president literally tried to treat this thing as if it was an episode of The Apprentice, demanding payment from the sale. It’s ludicrous.
This is exactly what Adam Curtis means by Hypernormalization.
How exactly does this move help him win reelection? I'm genuinely curious, I just don't see how this action would move anyone into a Trump vote who was previously not already planning to vote Trump.
No one said it is an intelligent move. Just because it is a move doesn’t necessarily make it a good one. Trump is, hopefully, grasping for straws. He has tried to use the virus and now trade to tie into hate brooding in the country and use anti-Chinese sentiment to his advantage. Trump has specifically attacked Biden as being soft on China. It’s all a ploy, just like his shenanigans on the U.S. treasury being sent a cut of the sale of TikTok. The fact that there are legitimate issues external but related to Trump’s actions and proclamations does not legitimize them.
I think it’s dangerous because people are underestimating just how hateful a lot of the U.S. is against foreigners and how whatever Trump is anti at the moment spreads like wildfire. Americans in general do not understand China or even how similar our government can be, and so it is easy to rally people against it.
> Many American corporations gather and abuse much more data than any allegations against TikTok and WeChat.
You're inventing a false premise with that setup. The issue with TikTok isn't primarily data collection unto itself. It's that they're owned by China (ie who is doing the data collecting), and without exception all large corporations in China are directly commanded by the CCP. They have CCP committees that 'advise' the boards and outline what the companies may or may not do at all times; primarily focused on major decisions, sensitive matters for the CCP, or matters of national strategy. The only reason ByteDance isn't selling TikTok for example, is because the CCP said they weren't allowed to because it would make China look weak; that's not a decision that is up to ByteDance, because they're not in control of anything ultimately. In China's dictatorship, all power by default rests with the CCP (and increasingly with future Chairman Xi's new cult of personality, as the purges have begun); that approach means they can do anything at any time for any reason.
They even started hijacking boards in Hong Kong back in 2016:
WSJ 2017: "Since 2016, at least 32 Chinese state-owned companies or units listed in Hong Kong have proposed changes to their corporate structures to install Communist Party committees that advise their boards of directors." [1]
China isn't an ally of the US, they're a blend of enemy and super competitor. They don't freely allow US companies - such as Facebook, Google, Reddit, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Amazon AWS, and dozens of others - to operate inside of China. It's entirely reasonable to disallow some China-owned corporations from operating in the US as a matter of trade reciprocation.
> The only reason ByteDance isn't selling TikTok for example, is because the CCP said they weren't allowed to because it would make China look weak; that's not a decision that is up to ByteDance, because they're not in control of anything ultimately.
It's not because the "CCP" said they weren't allowed to. It's because the government of the People's Republic of China issued a new policy against exporting sensitive technology. The government obviously had ByteDance in mind, but this was a government policy issued in the normal way, not anything to do with Communist Party committees advising corporate boards. It's a response by the Chinese government to a measure taken by the American government against a Chinese company.
> They don't freely allow US companies [...] to operate inside of China.
A great many US companies freely operate inside China - many more than vice versa. China's economic development was largely driven by the "Reform and Opening-Up Policy." As the name suggests, a major part of that policy was allowing foreign companies to invest in China. Foreign companies did invest massively in China, gaining market access and taking advantage of Chinese labor. If you walk around any major Chinese city nowadays, you'll see the result: foreign companies are everywhere. Volkswagens, Hondas and Toyotas fill the streets. There's a Starbucks, McDonald's or KFC on every other corner. Everyone walks around with smartphones filled with American electronics. Chinese airlines fly fleets of Boeing and Airbus planes. The computers all run Windows or OS X. The idea that US companies can't operate in China is just very far from the reality, which is that US companies have a massive presence in China.
The security angle is theater. Many American corporations gather and abuse much more data than any allegations against TikTok and WeChat. And if people are really worried about foreign monitoring, then there are millions of cameras and microphones embedded in baby monitors, pet feeders, home security cameras, and other smart devices, all foreign made and networked. Some claims of influence could be made in TikTok, but there’s literally nothing stopping that from happening on platforms owned by U.S. companies, where it’s been proven to have happened and is still currently happening. So that argument doesn’t apply. If it does apply, it applies to a much broader app landscape than just TikTok and WeChat.
So in the end, everyone debating this thing as if it is an actual intelligent thing to be discussed is just adding legitimacy to Trump grasping for re-election and another one of his chaotic moves. There are actual problems but those are only plastered onto this whole deal by externals. The president literally tried to treat this thing as if it was an episode of The Apprentice, demanding payment from the sale. It’s ludicrous.
This is exactly what Adam Curtis means by Hypernormalization.