The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that will ban TikTok in the United States if its China-based owner, ByteDance, doesn't sell within six months, a move supported by and spearheaded by President Joe Biden. Although the bill has garnered broad bipartisan support, public support may be a bit different. Ty, Jay and Meredith discuss the merits of the bill (or the lack thereof), how it reeks of McCarthyism and government censorship, and ask an important question: Why doesn't the U.S. have privacy laws regulating all tech companies?

 

0:00 - Intro ("vacation" time, Jay's shitter's full)

14:02 - Sounds of the Week:

• Dallas Seavey wins record 6th Iditarod race
• 'Oppenheimer' Wins Best Picture

35:57 - TikTok ban

 

Songs:

"Startin' Up A Posse" by Anthrax

"Books Are Burning" by XTC

"Fuck The FCC" by Eric Idle and John Du Prez

 

Notes:

• Tom Brokaw (Dana Carvey) Pre-Tapes - Saturday Night Live (2:12)
• Dallas Seavey wins 6th Iditarod championship, most ever in the world’s most famous sled dog race (first Sounds of the Week entry)
• Iditarod rules (gutting rule is Rule 34)
• A moose attack, an injured dog, an improper gutting: drama at Alaska’s Iditarod, explained (18:50 - Answers Meredith and Jay's questions about the Iditarod gutting rule. Spoiler alert: It ties to Alaskan state hunting laws)
• 2024 Academy Awards winners (second Sounds of the Week entry)
• Elon Musk tweet about Academy Awards (29:57)
• H.R.7521 - Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (bill to ban TikTok)
• House Passes Bill to Force TikTok Sale From Chinese Owner or Ban the App
• Internet privacy laws revealed - how your personal information is protected online (44:00 - mention of lack of federal laws regulating online privacy)
• Antitrust: Commission fines Google €2.42 billion for abusing dominance as search engine by giving illegal advantage to own comparison shopping service - Factsheet (44:27)
• TikTok and Douyin Explained (46:12 - research debunking many claims about TikTok privacy, censorship and connection with Chinese government)
• About Form W-8 BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Individuals) (49:55 - mentioned by Jay when talking about bad tax advice on TikTok)
• Watch: Marjorie Taylor Greene voices opposition to TikTok bill (55:15)
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweet against TikTok ban (55:15)
• Web searches for VPNs swell 400% in Texas as Pornhub blocks access (1:02:34)
• What the hell is wrong with TikTok?
• Are progressive politics the real reason why US lawmakers are spooked by Tiktok?
• TikTok creators warn of economic impact if app sees ban, call it a vital space for the marginalized