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It has nothing to do with China, really. That's just the excuse. The real reason for the ban is that Tiktok is becoming a hub for pro-Palestinian anti-genocide content. No amount of legal-location tricks will stop the US government from trying to kill Tiktok so long as it refuses to implement pro-Israel censorship.
It has everything to do with China. It's a company whose success threatens the profits of US monopolies in the same way as every other Chinese industry targeted by this administration. China's economic success undermines US global hegemony. TikTok's alleged "pro-Palestine" stance is entirely reflective of its younger user base. None of the people running ByteDance give a fuck about Palestine. They care about generating profit for shareholders, and they made a more addictive Skinner box than the US Skinner boxes companies. The US wants that profit going to US billionaires and not to the Chinese public. Chinese chip makers and EV manufacturers aren't being targeted because their customers are becoming too woke.
It's wishful thinking to believe that a critical mass of US teenagers are on the verge of posting their way to Palestinian liberation, because US public opinion, young people especially, doesn't control US policy. The US isn't a democracy. Facebook could be wall to wall river to the sea free Palestine posts tomorrow, and the US government's commitment to exterminate the people of Palestine would remain unchanged. Joe Biden isn't making this decision because he thinks it will result in a higher net popularity. He's doing it because he knows he doesn't have to worry about popularity. He doesn't really even have to worry about winning reelection. Anyone who would be permitted to replace him would still implement the same core policies.
That's nonsense. Where's the ultra-urgent legislative push to force Tencent to sell its western assets? It's a Chinese company that owns 100% of US-based Riot Games, the League of Legends people. They also own 40% of US-based Epic Games, the Fortnite people. Both are money printing machines, sending western cash to China. But I don't see American politicians handwringing about those two situations.
What's the real difference? Influential zionists are freaking the hell out about Tiktok.
Freaking.
The.
Hell.
Out.
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You don't see legislative pushes for that yet. I know this might be difficult for some people on this website to accept, but the video game sector probably isn't anyone's first priority in terms of geopolitical hegemony. PC gaming is popular and lucrative, but the user base isn't exactly on the same scale as phones, PCs generally, or social media. TikTok is a threat to Meta and Google monopolies in a way that League of Legends isn't to any of the big five. That's not to say that Microsoft might not eventually push for it, but Microsoft has never had the kind of monopoly over the video game space that they have over desktop OS. Huawei is a similar threat to Apple and Google's mobile monopoly, which is why they're targeted.
The idea that the poor powerless US is being led around on a leash by a secret cabal of "zionists" is superficial and backwards. Zionism functionally only exists as an extension of the US imperial project. If the Zionist occupation stopped serving US strategic interests, it would collapse overnight. It isn't capable of independently sustaining itself. It's obvious that anyone committed to US imperialism would be similarly committed to protecting its investment in the occupation of Palestine as a forward operating base for US military objectives. The US government is not being "infiltrated" or "tricked" by a "foreign power", as universally flattering as that explanation is to American vanity. It's a popular cope because it gives US citizens a superficial explanation for why they have no influence over public policy, while allowing them to maintain the delusion that their country is actually good if not for the dangerous foreigners secretly corrupting the righteous American spirit.