What’s up with TikTok?

March 24, 2023

          I am mentally exhausted by coverage of the Trump indictment watch. I assume you are, too, so I will cover that story last. Let’s look at other stories that should concern all Americans before circling back to the psychodrama that has overtaken the pursuit of justice against Trump.

What’s up with TikTok?

          The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on Thursday as a prelude to banning TikTok in the US. Republicans and Democrats alike expressed concern that TikTok could spy on the 150 million American users of the social media app. The CEO of TikTok emphasized that the company is headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, has 7,000 employees in the US, and is banned in China. For an excellent summary of the hearing, see Vox, 3 winners and 3 losers from Congress’s TikTok hearing

          Are the hearings another sign of the “out-of-touch” nature of members of Congress who fear a “new-fangled” social media app they mistakenly called “Tic Tac” (a breath mint)? No. There are legitimate concerns that TikTok could be used—indeed forced—to spy on US citizens. Hear me out.

          Imagine for a moment that the US passed a law that said every software company in the US had to provide the FBI and CIA a “back door access” into their software that would permit covert surveillance of users. Imagine further that every software company was required to assist the FBI and CIA in spying on Americans and was obligated to keep that surveillance secret. Finally, imagine that any US citizen who refused to cooperate with the CIA and FBI in gathering intelligence on US citizens could be jailed for life. Under those conditions, how would you feel about using Google, Bing, Firefox, Word, iMessage, WhatsApp, Gmail, Excel, TurboTax, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, iTunes, Ring Doorbell, Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash?

          The scenario described above is exactly the situation in China. See Lawfare,  Beijing’s New National Intelligence Law: From Defense to Offense. As explained in Lawfare, China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law commands

that “any organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work according to law.” [The law] grants intelligence agencies authority to insist on this support: “state intelligence work organs, when legally carrying forth intelligence work, may demand that concerned organs, organizations, or citizens provide needed support, assistance, and cooperation.” Organizations and citizens must also protect the secrecy of “any state intelligence work secrets of which they are aware.” 

          In other words, China can force software and technology companies to spy on their users for the benefit of the government, and the companies are obligated to keep their espionage activities secret.

          ByteDance, a Chinese company, owns TikTok. The Biden administration has demanded that ByteDance divest itself of TikTok, a demand that ByteDance has rejected. Instead, ByteDance offered to set up a “firewall” between ByteDance and TikTok user data for US citizens. (See Vox article above.) But, if the Chinese government ordered ByteDance to circumvent that firewall, Chinese citizens would be obligated to comply and keep those efforts secret under the National Intelligence Law.

          The threat is not hypothetical. ByteDance admitted that its employees used TikTok to track the locations of four US journalists who had written negative stories about TikTok. In the hearing before the Energy and Commerce Committee today, TikTok’s CEO said that he would not describe tracking the locations of journalists as “spying.” Of course, the CEO had to say that if the spying was conducted at the direction of the Chinese government! To say otherwise would violate the 2017 National Intelligence Law and risk a prison term. See TechCrunch, TikTok CEO says it wasn't 'spying' when ByteDance employees surveilled journalists.

          TikTok is bigger than Google. It is banned in China but wildly popular in the US. TikTok’s employees are obliged to assist the Chinese government in spying on US citizens (if requested) and must keep that assistance secret. What could go wrong?

China’s President Xi rubs Putin’s nose in the dirt after meeting in Russia.

          Russia is weakened and isolated because of its war on Ukraine. Putin celebrated the visit this week by China’s President Xi as a sign of Russia’s continued status as a major player on the world stage. Most observers described Putin as the “junior partner” in the meeting, anxious and desperate for assistance from China. Xi was polite and supportive, although a bit stand-offish.

          But as soon as Xi left Russia, he put an exclamation point on the sentiment that Russia is diminished and China is ascendent in the new world order. A day after leaving Russia, China announced a “Central Asian Summit” in May that would include former vassal states of the USSR that now constitute Russia’s soft underbelly—to which Russia lays claims through its “sphere of influence.” Oh, and Russia was not invited to the summit. See Business Insider, Xi Snubs Putin Amid Summit With Central Asia Power Play.

          Not only is the summit a humiliating affront to Putin, but it also lays bare the truth of Putin’s blunder in Ukraine. Because of the misbegotten invasion, Russia is weakened, dependent, and reeling. It has drained its resources, impaired its military readiness, and exposed the rot inflicted on Russia’s military by years of neglect and corruption. None of this means that Russia should be written off or ignored. But we should recognize that the firmament has shifted in Europe, Central Asia, and China. Don’t let Tucker Carlson or Ron DeSantis tell you otherwise.

Additional attacks on the dignity and humanity of LGBTQ people.

          Please don’t skip this story. It’s important. Fascist regimes frequently begin their worst by attacking groups they perceive to be defenseless. GOP-controlled state legislatures around the nation are continuing their efforts to attack, denigrate, and isolate LGBTQ people. We cannot stand in silence. We must resist all such efforts.

          Florida’s Department of Education has extended DeSantis’s “Don’t Say Gay” law to all primary, junior high, and high schools in the state. The new rule would

ban discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation “unless such instruction is either expressly required by state academic standards or is part of a reproductive health course for which a student’s parent has the option to have his or her student not attend.”

          The rule will put a crimp in discussions of Alexander the Great, Michelangelo, Alan Turing, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, J. Edgar Hoover, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Were they gay, and does it matter? While opinions may differ on both questions, the law prohibits any discussion of the questions as to those significant historical figures, and others.

          And that’s the point: By prohibiting discussions of “gender identity and sexual orientation” entirely, the state is implicitly suggesting that any variance from biblical concepts of sexual orientation is wrong. Once that misconception becomes embedded in state ideology, it is an easy step toward legalized discrimination—which is what is happening in Georgia.

          Today, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill that outlawed medical gender-affirming care for people under 18—regardless of the wishes of the patients and their parents in consultation with health professionals. See The Hill, Kemp signs bill banning some gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

          That’s right. Republicans are now interfering with the right of young people and their parents in making the most personal, private decisions relating to personhood possible. So much for the GOP aversion to Big Brother government. They oppose Big Government when it comes to regulating firearms and toxic chemicals but have no problem meddling in intimate details of family life.

          What Florida, Georgia, and other GOP-controlled states are doing is wrong and dangerous. We must do all we can to condemn and reverse such laws. As usual, the most expedient solution runs through the ballot box.

Alvin Bragg responds to GOP House committees’ demand for testimony and documents.

          Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent a five-page letter resisting demands by two House committees for testimony and documents regarding the investigation and possible indictment of Trump. The letter is here: Just Security, Letter in Response to Judiciary Committee.

          As noted by Lawrence O’Donnell in his Thursday evening program, the letter was a brutal lesson to Jim Jordan about basic concepts of federalism embodied in the Constitution. See Mediate, ‘The Single Most Humiliating Letter Ever Received’: Lawrence O’Donnell Brutally Mocks Jim Jordan’s Attempt to Get Alvin Bragg to Testify.

          Bragg wrote, in part,

The Letter's requests are an unlawful incursion into New York's sovereignty. Congress's investigative jurisdiction is derived from and limited by its power to legislate concerning federal matters. . . . The Constitution limits Congress's powers to those specifically enumerated; and the Tenth Amendment ensures that any unenumerated powers are reserved to the States. . . .  It is therefore generally understood that a Congressional committee may not "inquire into matters which are . . . reserved to the States."

          Bragg could have added, “and Republicans are big proponents of states’ rights, except when it comes to their depraved efforts to protect a serial criminal and unrepentant coup-plotter.” I think that statement was implied in the letter, so it would have been redundant to include it outright.

          More to the point, the actions of the GOP-controlled committees constitute obstruction of justice—similar to instances in the 1940s described in Rachel Maddow’s Ultra podcast. Sadly, the Constitution likely immunizes Jim Jordan and his co-conspirators from criminal liability for actions taken as legislators (absent bribery). But their actions are wrong, nonetheless.

          It is bewildering that no Republican leader is criticizing the hypocrisy of an attempted federal takeover of a state prosecution. Their silence demonstrates that their lip service to states’ rights is nothing more than post hoc rationalization rather than a guiding principle of their party.

          Where does all of this leave us? In the same place we have been for more than two years—waiting for prosecutors to act as we are lectured about the complexity of prosecuting a public coup attempt and election interference captured start-to-finish in a recording. As I said in my opening line, “I am mentally exhausted by coverage of the Trump indictment watch.” At some point, voters will have the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the diligence of the prosecutors (or the elected officials who appointed them).  

Response regarding yesterday’s article on Faithful America.

          Wow! I received a LOT of email about yesterday’s article on Faithful America (an online organization that opposes Christian nationalism). Thanks to everyone who wrote to share their views on a sometimes difficult and personal topic. I tried to respond to everyone but had to give up mid-afternoon.

          I want to share a few observations with other readers about the sentiments expressed in the emails because they illuminate the fraught role of religion in politics today.

          First, many Christians are in pain and anguish over what is happening in the Christian church and were thankful for the reference to Faithful America.

          Second, many readers suggested other organizations that resist Christian nationalism. Some asked me to promote those other organizations, which I am hesitant to do because I do not know enough about the organizations’ other beliefs to feel comfortable making a recommendation. But there are plenty of Christian-affiliated organizations out there looking for help in resisting Christian nationalism. If you are looking for a group to join to help reclaim the good name of the Christian church, there is no shortage of opportunity. A little research and due diligence should help you get to the right place.

          Third, some people were skeptical / upset / angry because they felt I was minimizing the threat of Christian nationalism by pointing to small groups speaking out “when the majority of Christian groups and representatives remain silent.” While I understand the concern, that dynamic is universal. Just look at our electorate. Only about 20% of Americans are die-hard MAGA supporters, but they give a bad name to American democracy writ large. Why isn’t every concerned American speaking out vigorously, continuously, and loudly? If we all did so, MAGA extremism would be less of a threat than it is. It seems to me the same phenomenon is happening in the Christian church.

          Finally, a handful of readers wrote to say my focus on Christian nationalism and the key role of white evangelicals in supporting Trump was unfair and overly negative to the Christian church in general. I understand the concern, but I always try to direct my comments to the political activism of those groups. Having entered the political fray, they cannot claim immunity from criticism because they are religiously affiliated.

          It is impossible to discuss politics in the US today without discussing the role of Christian nationalism and the strong support of white evangelicals for Trump. So, I will continue to do so. But I will do so with the benefit of the reader comments in response to yesterday’s newsletter. Thanks to all who took the time to write!

Concluding Thoughts.

          Like the rest of the media, I fell for Trump's claim that he would be arrested on Tuesday of this week. I again remind myself of Rule Number One in assessing statements by Trump: “Whatever he says, he is trying to raise money.” Which is what he did with his fake claim of a planned arrest on Tuesday. He raised $1.5 million for his PAC after he made his claim about an impending arrest. Lesson learned (again).

          You would think that after six years, I would have been smart enough to avoid the con. But the true genius of a con artist is that the con continues after you think the con has ended. Note to self: With Trump, everything is a con. So, too, with alleged indictments. Until Trump appears in court to enter a plea, every report of an impending indictment is a distraction intended to divert us from real work. Lesson learned (again).

          I will send a short note tomorrow to open the weekend comments section.

          Stay strong! Talk to you tomorrow!