Before we even get started, I need you to understand… I am not a traditional millennial. Regular listeners of my show know that I created a Facebook when I was in college and bailed on it the moment I graduated.
I didn’t make my triumphant return to the land of pictures of what my friends were eating until I began my media career 6 years ago.
Don’t get me wrong, I see what people like about it. Both from a professional tool perspective and as a fun app to pass some downtime at a restaurant, or in all likelihood in a restroom.
However, if my media career ended today, you would never see me on there again. No judgement, of course- just a personal preference.
Another thing that I understand is the importance of safeguarding data. I’d argue I even have a more firm grasp on the concept than this current iteration of Congress.
Who ever would’ve guessed there’d be a downside to half the members being roughly 1,000 years old?
I feel like it is important for me to lay that groundwork on this issue when I say that the most recent bill proposed to ban TikTok is a very dangerous piece of legislation.
As I mentioned in the title, I equate this bill to the Patriot Act.
If you listen to the audio provided at the top of the article, I provide a half a dozen examples of why China will have unfettered access to your data, with or without TikTok.
That’s not what this article is focusing on.
More importantly, verbiage in the bill explicitly states “an entity that operates, directly or indirectly, a website, desktop application, mobile application, or augmented or immersive technology application…”
Let me put this in layman’s terms-
If you own or operate a web entity listed above, like, oh I don’t know, someone writing an article on a local radio station website, let’s say, the government would have the authority to shut it down if it believed it represented some sort of threat.
Have a controversial opinion? You’re out of business.
Disagree with a foreign policy issue? You’re out of business.
You don’t have to be internet savvy to understand that this very clearly presents issues that will persist well after the potential end of TikTok.
And for those of you that think I’m overreacting…
Remember when our government promised us that the Patriot ACT would not be used to spy on Americans after we found Osama Bin Laden? How’d that work out?
How many times do you mention a product and then see an advertisement for that product moments later?
Are you starting to see how this could very easily become a problem?
We discussed the problems with this bill for almost the entirety of my show today. I took calls and texts from a number of people in the Fox Cities with a diverse set of opinions on the topic.
This bill has not passed the Senate yet and I would highly recommend giving your Senators a call to tell them you don’t want to see this bill passed.
Even if you don’t use the app, this bill will eventually affect parts of your life.
If you’re interested in hearing a more in-depth conversation about the topic, click the player up above.
[Spreaker: Outside the Box; Axios.com]
