What State Action Doctrine? Biden Administration Renews Push For Deal With TikTok, Where US Government Would Oversee Content Moderation On TikTok

What State Action Doctrine? Biden Administration Renews Push For Deal With TikTok, Where US Government Would Oversee Content Moderation On TikTok

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.

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.”

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

U.S. Government Seeks Extensive Oversight over TikTok

President Biden should not run again in 2024

President Biden should not run again in 2024

Biden has never been good at saying no. He should have resisted the choice of Harris, who was a colleague of his beloved son Beau when they were both state attorneys general. He should have blocked then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which has done considerable damage to the island’s security. He should have stopped his son Hunter from joining the board of a Ukrainian gas company and representing companies in China — and he certainly should have resisted Hunter’s attempts to impress clients by getting Dad on the phone.

He shouldn’t have overthrown a democratically-elected president!

[07-2023] Zelensky showing ‘authoritarian traits’, says Swiss intelligence report

Ukraine is at a “critical point” in its democratic evolution as it heads towards presidential elections in 2024, says a confidential assessment by the Federal Intelligence Service.

Zelensky showing ‘authoritarian traits’, says Swiss intelligence report (archived)

H/T: Emil Cosman / Rand Paul

Related:

[2021] Ukraine’s Accelerating Slide into Authoritarianism

The Maidan Revolution alumni now seem to be trying to devour even some of their own members. In mid‐May, Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko charged agents of the SBU, Ukraine’s state security agency, had come to his apartment in what he denounced as a continuing attempt by his political rival, Zelensky, to put pressure on him. Earlier in May, the SBU, the state prosecutor’s office, and police carried out large‐scale searches of various units of the Kiev city government, accusing the local authorities of misappropriation of budget funds and tax evasion, among other offenses. Although Klitschko was one of the original leaders of the Maidan demonstrations, Zelensky apparently now regards him as an annoying rival, since the Kiev mayor was a close ally of former president Poroshenko.

[2021] KIIS poll: Every fifth Ukrainian ready to vote for Zelensky in presidential elections

If presidential elections were held soon, incumbent head of state Volodymyr Zelensky would receive about 21.8% of the vote, according to the results of a sociological survey “Social and Political Sentiments of Ukraine” conducted by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

[06-2023] Journalist Randy Credico Has Been Placed on Ukrainian Terrorist “Kill-List” via CIA Project Website

Advisers are suggesting Randy Credico to lie low—keep out of sight—because too many journalists, activists, academics and dissidents placed on this hit-list coincidentally wind up dead, sometimes only days after being listed. Once killed, the Ukrainian word for “LIQUIDATED” is plastered across their pictures in big red letters—as in the listing (below) of Russian journalist Darya Dugina, who was blown up by a car bomb.

Journalist Randy Credico Has Been Placed on Ukrainian Terrorist “Kill-List” via CIA Project Website

Zelensky to Beg House Speaker McCarthy for More Taxpayer Money, While Biden Bullies Developing Countries to Betray Russia and China

Zelensky arrived in New York on Monday and will head to Washington after the UN General Assembly

House Speaker McCarthy to Meet With Zelensky This Week

Related:

Biden urges UN to not abandon Ukraine

Biden’s call was part of his long-running theme to rally democracies against the globe’s rising autocracies. On Tuesday, he went further, implicitly urging developing nations to turn their backs on Russia and China’s autocracies and join an inter-connected, rules-based order promoted by the U.S. and its allies.

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, skipped the general assembly, as did China’s Xi Jinping, but Beijing’s presence loomed large on the east side of Manhattan. While much of Biden’s speech read as a pitch to the developing world, its true subject was China, although the president tried to publicly downplay tensions with Beijing, as he did just weeks ago at the G20.

Revealed: how US immigration uses fake social media profiles across investigations

Records from the Department of Homeland Security show it sought to expand undercover operations online despite pushback from Facebook

Revealed: how US immigration uses fake social media profiles across investigations

Related:

DHS Continues To Violate Facebook Policies By Allowing CBP, ICE Officers To Create Fake Social Media Profiles

Meanwhile, social media surveillance continues uninterrupted. The documents show CBP is still allowed to create fake profiles to passively monitor public Facebook posts. ICE can go a bit further. It has been given explicit permission to create fake accounts to engage in undercover investigations as long as the tactics used online are somewhat analogous to undercover activities carried out in the real world.

Armed man impersonating US Marshal arrested at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. event ID’d

@ogbigmr.e717

EMRGENCY BROADCAST!!! Name: Adrian Paul Aispuro / Secret Space Program: Gen 3 ULTRA Enhanced Asset JEDI WARRIOR / Medical Science Officer Specializing in Emergency Health Sciences and Corporate Espionage

♬ original sound – StoicMedic717

A man who claimed to be part of Robert F. Kennedy’s security detail — while carrying pistols and extra ammunition — was quickly detained by authorities after showing up at a California event featuring the Democratic presidential candidate, authorities said.

Armed man impersonating US Marshal arrested at Robert F. Kennedy event ID’d

The Daily Beast. 🙄 He only has one public video, on TikTok, and no videos on Rumble. 🧐