I’m ambivalent about Tik Tok, which, of course, I don’t use. On the one hand, there is a genuine possibility that the data generated by the company could be appropriated by the Chinese government, and the reactions of the government and the Chinese public are proof that all large Chinese corporations, like it or not, are effectively agents of the state. On the other hand, a ban would be largely unenforceable, and it would result in serious First Amendment issues. Do we really want to create the equivalent of the Great Firewall of China? I have my doubts.
Tik Tok is just the beginning. Any attempt to uncouple our economy from the country that provides us with most of our manufactured goods is going to come with significant costs. Is Biden doing anything to prepare us to make those kinds of sacrifices? Is Trump? DeSantis? I don’t see it.
Imposing economic sanctions on countries with tiny economies doesn’t create major problems. Doing the same thing with larger countries with whom you are interdependent is another story–one that doesn’t have to end well. I will discuss one such instance in my next post.