What’s the real 1st ammendment implications of the proposed TikTok ban / divestment law?
nostr:npub1uuxnz0sq60thc098xfxqst7wnw77l0sm3r8nn48yspuvz4ecprksxdahzv takes an indepth look at the case and it’s implications for free speech on the internet in the US.
nostr:note1s5msfydfl0nz3m44qxgg52jtarnsdjnfzluajflkwh7znkt8w5cq9zm0de
TikTok is the agent of a foreign government. As such I doubt the 1st Amendment applies to them.
But as the law professors point out in the article, the company that runs TikTok is incorporated in the US, and thus is subject to US law.
That they are a subsidiary of a Chinese corporation (which is not owned by the Chinese government) doesn't change the legal status of the US entity.
Still an agent of the CCP.
The first amendment gives rights to citizens of the US not foreign controlled companies, right? Yes American citizens are posting on there but that doesn’t mean the company has a right to push their platform. Doesn’t feel like a violation IMHO but I’m not a lawyer 🤷
It’s a US corporation and the US has lots of laws and treaties that provide equal treatment to American and foreign beneficial owners.
ByteDance is a Chinese company…
Technically it’s a cayman islands company. They operate an HQ in china and lots of the shareholders are Chinese.
That’s an interesting point but in either case they’re not a majority owned US company. The bill of rights doesn’t apply to them in this case.
I’m not convinced that anything with an algorithm that’s controlled by anyone BUT the end-user could be considered a public square and be protected by the 1st amendment for speech. I think the government can consider regulation of any foreign-owned app if that app refuses to make its algorithm transparent, an algorithm is not human anyway.
