From his perch on a government commission, Jacob Helberg fearmongered about TikTok in Congress. He also works for a giant defense contractor.
TECH OFFICIAL PUSHING TIKTOK BAN COULD REAP WINDFALL FROM U.S.–CHINA COLD WAR
Previously:
Lawmaker Who Led TikTok Ban Bill Joins Private Surveillance Firm
Lawmaker Who Led TikTok Ban Bill Joins Private Surveillance Firm
Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who led the charge on a bill that could effectively ban TikTok within the country — on the basis that China can “surveil its users” — plans to take up a post with the American surveillance company and defense contractor Palantir, Forbes reported.
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Gallagher, who currently chairs the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, was the lead sponsor on the bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the popular social media platform within six months or face a potential ban from app stores and web-hosting services.
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After the vote, Palantir executive Jacob Helberg, who also serves on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, called on his social media followers to fund opponents to lawmakers who voted no on the bill to ban TikTok. Gallagher worked with Helberg in recent months as part of an effort to build bipartisan, bicoastal support of the bill. Helberg took a job at Palantir as a senior policy advisor to CEO Alex Karp back in August.
Related:
The United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission (informally, the U.S.–China Commission, USCC) is an independent agency of the United States government. It was established on October 30, 2000, through the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act.
Now, here’s the kicker: Part 2 Section 1b of the “Tik Tok Banning” Bill actually declares anyone assisting a user to access the App will be guilty of an offence and that clearly means VPN, so technically, it’s the USA that’s making them illegal, not China – what a turn up!!!
Piers Morgan Vs Jeffrey Sachs On Putin: “Russia’s War With Ukraine Was Completely Avoidable”
Related:
H/T: This is actually happening!- Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil
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Euromaidan 2014 – Orange Revolution – War in Donbass
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Head of the ADL: “we REALLY have a TikTok problem, a Gen-Z problem”….China recently stated Palestinians have an “inalienable right” to use force in resisting foreign occupation.
Is TikTok Censorship Bill Finally Getting Passed Tied to Israel?
We’ve noted many times how the GOP’s obsession with TikTok is stupid, performative, and utterly hollow. For example, the party desperately wants to ban TikTok for “privacy reasons,” yet consistently opposes passing privacy laws, or regulating data brokers that traffic in far more data — at a far greater international scale — than TikTok executives could ever dream of.
Nikki Haley Reinvigorates The GOP’s Breathless TikTok Hysteria… For The Children
Related:
The perceived performance of pro-Palestinian content on the platform depends on how you parse TikTok’s data.
Critics renew calls for a TikTok ban, claiming platform has an anti-Israel bias
Related:
Israel losing media war on Tik Tok; Palestinian civilian casualties continue to mount:
However, Tik-Tok has become the latest battle ground for the conflict between Israel and Palestine, with potentially dangerous consequences for the side that fails to influence the most hearts and minds on an international scale.
For all the (mostly misleading) talk of the US government having too much say in content moderation decisions, this move would literally put US government officials effectively in control of content moderation decisions for TikTok. Apparently the thinking is “welp, it’s better than the Chinese government.” But… that doesn’t mean it’s good. Or constitutional.
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Honestly, what this reads as is the moral panic over China and TikTok so eating the brains of US officials that rather than saying “hey, we should have privacy laws that block this,” they thought instead “hey, that would be cool if we could just do all the things we accuse China of doing, but where we pull the strings.”
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So, look, if we’re going to talk about US government influence over content moderation choices, why aren’t we talking much more about this?
Related:
TikTok and U.S. rekindle negotiations, boosting app’s hopes for survival
CFIUS monitoring agencies, including the departments of Justice, Treasury and Defense, would have the right to access TikTok facilities at any time and overrule its policies or contracting decisions. CFIUS would also set the rules for all new company hires, including that they must be U.S. citizens, must consent to additional background checks and could be denied the job at any time.
A Draft Of TikTok’s Plan To Avoid A Ban Gives The U.S. Government Unprecedented Oversight Power
The great TikTok moral panic of 2023 shows no sign of slowing down.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr Continues To Enjoy Oodles Of Free Press For Fear Mongering About TikTok
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