How are so many people (especially on HN) fine with this? Haven't we criticized "The Great Firewall of China" for literally decades? How is this not the start of that? Genuine question. This ban seems to set horrible precedent to me. Bet everyones "coolness" with it makes me think I'm not understanding something.
As the sibling post mentions, the public is too stupid to be allowed to be communicated at by an untrustworthy and adversarial media. Of course, untrustworthy and adversarial refers to foreign enemies, not domestic[1] ones.
[1] Fox and friends, et al, would be the poster children[2] for untrustworthy and adversarial, but they are our untrustworthy and adversarial media firms, so mysteriously, they get a free pass.
[2] Just imagine if the 'batshit right-wing conspiracy' half of the US media landscape were ran by the Kremlin (Or some other boogieman of the week), instead of a billionaire from Australia. Same content, different source, would drive people utterly livid.
We can still say and post what we want - it’s not content that’s being censored.
I personally was deep into digital privacy back in grade school and college when the Arab Spring began, but my own thinking shifted after learning about and working with people who blue teamed incidents like Operation Aurora and Titan Rain, as well as censorship of FB and Whatsapp in the PRC following unrest in East Turkestan in 2009.
but sure, lets not ban it. lets not stop any foreign interference in our institutions and lets let our adversaries brain wash our population into destroying our country, but as long as we feel righteous that we have freedom right? thats all that matters?
every time someone brings up a whataboutism as a rebuttle to that, "what about american social media companies?? they are much worse", they are doing exactly what China wants. China will gladly sit by and watch our destruction, prodding it along, as we eat each other. Most people are just oblivious to it and will deny it because of how much peace we've had, and how far we've gone without a near-peer enemy. at least with this bill we can stop the bleed.
I was once a diehard defender of digital privacy and a small government, but over time I realized that the world really is not peaceful and countries exist out there that want to see our people dead. I understand it, I get it. But so many people are oblivious to foreign threats that they are willing to undermine their own country just so they can be on their high horse. It's not worth it.
