US 'National Security' Suddenly Discovers Data Security — When China Is Involved
📰 THE STORY: Deutsche Welle covers TikTok's proposed joint venture with a US tech company, Oracle, and other investors, to create an independent entity, 'Project Texas,' designed to house US user data and content algorithms. This move is presented as TikTok's attempt to assuage US 'national security' concerns and avoid a politically charged ban spearheaded by Washington. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT
TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The US government's sudden obsession with data security from a Chinese app stands in stark contrast to its historical indifference, or even active participation, in mass surveillance. Edward Snowden's 2013 revelations exposed the NSA's PRISM program, which forced tech giants like Google, Apple, and Facebook to provide direct access to user data. The 'concern' isn't
about data security; it's about who owns the data and who controls the narrative, especially in a rising geopolitical rival. Double Standard: The intense scrutiny applied to TikTok's data handling is almost comically absent when it comes to US-based social media companies. Facebook, for example, faced no ban, only congressional hearings, after Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of millions of
users without consent to target political ads in 2016. The issue isn't privacy; it's the country of origin. If 'national security' was truly paramount, why aren't US platforms subject to the same existential threats for their rampant data harvesting and sale? Follow the Money: The push for a TikTok ban is not detached from powerful lobbying interests and corporate rivalries. US tech giants stand