One of the big things looming in the news recently has been a potential TikTok ban. Whether you like TikTok or not, it’s important to know that the ban is couched within legislation called the Restrict Act which has caused numerous people to voice concern. I recently wrote to Sen. Ted Cruz, who is one of my Texas Senators, and expressed my concern about the ban. His response gave me some dystopian vibes, so I thought I’d share it here.
We try not to get into politics very often on Post Apocalyptic Media, unless the story is something that directly affects survival or prepper planning. The TikTok ban falls under this category due to reverberations of greater tensions with China, along with some potential dystopian vibes regarding the future of free speech.
TikTok has pointed to Project Texas as a way to alleviate legislators’ concerns about China spying through the app. As Mashable reported, this would change how data is stored. Any U.S. TikTok user’s data would be stored by Oracle, a U.S. company, in Austin, Texas. A committee approved by the U.S. government would then monitor Project Texas to ensure the firewall successfully prevents China from accessing U.S. data. But some lawmakers aren’t satisfied, even though it would address their concerns, which points to something else motivating them.
Cruz Referred to China as the ‘Single Greatest Geopolitical Threat’ of the Century
I wrote to Sen. Ted Cruz about my concerns, and requested an answer. I also wrote to Sen. John Cornyn, who didn’t respond, and my Representative, who also did not respond. While Cruz did answer, it was basically a form letter that he is likely sending to anyone asking about TikTok. It didn’t address the specific points I brought up.
Here it is:
If anyone else wrote Ted Cruz, I’d love to know if you got the same letter. (As a side note, I don’t have any issue with banning TikTok on government devices. It’s when the ban reaches into what citizens can do with their personal time that things get dicey.)
He starts right out by stating that China “is the single greatest geopolitical threat the United States will face over the next century.”
That statement by itself points to where the world is likely heading in terms of global tensions and cold wars.
Then he writes: “The espionage threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party is acute, persistent, and has repeatedly endangered the safety and security of Texans and indeed all Americans and we must fundamentally reassess our relationship with China.”
He continues: “TikTok is currently being used as a surveillance tool on behalf of an adversarial government.”
He basically throws his hat in the ring for being fully behind a TikTok ban, without addressing any of my concerns as one of his constituents. (Interestingly, other Republicans and Democrats are coming out against the ban and the Restrict act.)
Many Are Sounding the Alarm About the Legislation that Would Ban TikTok
If you’re a reader of this site and on board with the TikTok ban simply due to thinking it’s a bad influence, I’d suggest doing a little more research. There’s an interesting video on TikTok that looks at what you see when you search “France” on Instagram versus searching “France” on TikTok that you might want to watch.
It would also be a good idea to read up on the Restrict Act, S. 686. You can read it here on Congress.gov. (The House version, HR 1153, is called the DATA Act.)
Reason Magazine opined that the Restrict Act might criminalize the use of VPNs, and beyond that, is “insanely far-reaching and could have a huge range of deleterious effects.”
Responsible Statecraft noted it could “dangerously expand (the) national security state.” The same publication noted about the DATA Act: “Section 102 of the bill, oriented toward penalties on U.S. citizens, would require the secretary of the treasury to ban any U.S. financial transactions by any American who had knowingly transferred sensitive personal information to any entity owned by or even ‘subject to the influence of’ China.”
With the dystopian vibes we’re seeing in the news, it’s important that everyone stays apprised of what’s happening. How does all the recent technological news affect your prepper planning? Let us know in the comments or at one of our social media accounts.
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