Summary
TikTok faces a U.S. shutdown by Jan. 19 unless the Supreme Court delays or blocks a law requiring its Chinese parent, ByteDance, to divest.
The Biden administration defends the law as a national security measure, citing potential risks of Chinese government influence. Content creators argue it violates free speech.
Donald Trump, once a supporter of the ban, seeks a delay to reach a “political resolution.”
A shutdown could cost TikTok millions of users and revenue. The court’s decision, due soon, could reshape U.S. digital speech policy.
People on the left in the west have plenty of platforms; they just don’t see the kinds of engagement that other ideologies do. To paraphrase, the right looks for coverts, the left looks for traitors. People on the left in the west are honestly their own worst enemy; they do a bang-up job at gate-keeping and pushing people away over minor ideological differences, and that drives engagement down.
Correct. But it does answer to China. And that’s a problem. Independent social media isn’t a problem; social media under the direct authority of a hostile authoritarian gov’t is.