Look, I’ve really tried to keep this blog neutral, apolitical, and uncontroversial, but I can’t keep this one down. It’s no secret that I am not now, have never been, and will never be a fan of the incoming president. If you want to discount my opinion off the top because of that–that I have some sort of “derangement syndrome”–go ahead and stop reading. What I have to say probably isn’t for you. This is more of a prediction.
To see the TikTok ban go into effect with his name already on it made me throw up in my mouth a little bit, first of all, but it made the game so very clear to me. This is a game, make no mistake, to make him the big hero on day one. With the amount of influence he’s already shown on The Hill and elsewhere, it feels like the fix is already in. Here’s how they’ll spin it:
He saw the ban coming, and he saw the people were angry. It passed through the uncaring Congress with wide, bipartisan support. Even the SCOTUS, who can’t agree on a single thing, voted unanimously to allow the ban to stand. He tells the public they’re all against you, the small business owners, the influencers, the content creators, but HE cares. In fact, he’s the ONLY one who cares about YOU. Heroically, altruistically, he signs an order on day one delaying the ban. He cements his reputation as a deal-maker when he convinces one of his billionaire buddies to swoop in and purchase the American share of ByteDance–makes them a deal they can’t refuse. The mighty clock app is safely in American hands, and your business, your beloved app, is back on your phone. Remember, they’re ALL bad guys, except for him.
That’s a grand fiction. It’s specifically designed, and probably has been carefully orchestrated, to give him a huge, populist, PR victory. It’s merely the first of many “wag the dog” moments to come over the next 4+ years. When he signs the other heartless, anti-democratic orders to follow, the people by and large won’t care, because at least he saved TikTok. The oligarchs will have control of the only remaining major communications channel that they couldn’t manipulate, and the only app they couldn’t beat fairly. It also sets the precedent for other apps or companies that get too “uppity” or cast aspersions on the regime. You either get banned or purchased by the tech cabal, who have all happily lined up outside that accursed Florida resort to bend the knee and avoid litigation–getting banned themselves for not “playing ball.”
I’ve also made no secret of my disdain for the clock app, but it gives me no pleasure to see it banned on spurious national security concerns. They merely used the specter of The Soviet Union China to spark this dangerous game (yeah, if you’re old enough, you’ve heard this tune before). It’s been said many times already that Meta and Google collect 10x more data on you than ByteDance ever dreamed to. They’ll tell you straight-faced that the CCP could use TikTok as a propaganda tool from their own apps where AI-powered “users” are already spewing disinformation at alarming and increasing rates. Drown out and marginalize the dissenting voices loud enough for long enough, people will eventually believe the lies.
Yeah, it’s 4am where I am. This popped into my head and robbed me of my sleep. I’d like to hope I’m wrong about this, and if I am, I will admit it. But this picture makes it feel like I’m not. Coming from the guy who would only allow movies to be made on his properties if he got a role in them, this feels very familiar.
