this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2024
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[–] [email protected] 40 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Incorrect, the Bill is broad but it's not any company for any reason.

The "PROTECTING AMERICANS’ DATA FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARIES ACT OF 2024" has this to say:

(a) Prohibition.—It shall be unlawful for a data broker to sell, license, rent, trade, transfer, release, disclose, provide access to, or otherwise make available personally identifiable sensitive data of a United States individual to—

(1) any foreign adversary country; or

(2) any entity that is controlled by a foreign adversary.

(b) Enforcement By Federal Trade Commission.—

(1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES.—A violation of this section shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or a deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).

(2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall enforce this section in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this section.

(B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any person who violates this section shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.

(3) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this section may be construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.

and then like a bunch of pages of hyper-specific definitions for the above terms.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Am I misunderstanding something this actually sounds like a positive thing. Although I wish it was not just for "foreign adversary country; or any entity that is controlled by a foreign adversary." And instead just in general

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yea, it's not as bad as this thread is trying to make it out to be.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

But muh silly dancing app!!1one

Hot take: people are pretending this is a gross censorship violation only because they're addicted to the app and it might be going away, leaving them with nothing to scroll on endlessly into the day

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Hot take approved

[–] [email protected] -1 points 7 months ago

No, some of them are pretending it's gross censorship only because Amerikkka Bad and Biden Bad and CCP Good.

My favorite was "China sowing chaos is Good, Actually"

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I've been pretty optimistic about it from the start so I might be pretty biased, but it is very vague on what exactly the FTC can do to the companies in violation. If anything, it creates precedent for protecting Americans from corporate interests, so hopefully more to come in the future.

Some things were excluded from my comment such as the 60 day limitation being listed after the definitions, and the definitions are quite long so there could be some important facets in there that I have missed.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 7 months ago

That’s kinda the point though. They don’t give a shit about protecting our data. They’ve willingly engaged in the data trading markets themselves. It’s greatly enhanced their power. They’ve protected the practice by simple virtue of dumping fuck tons of money into it. But as soon as other players get into the game…”quick, to the gavel-mobile!”

This bill isn’t for us. It’s for them. I’m no fan of china—it’s an authoritarian state that forcefully exerts control over its people—but to the US, they’re just the next game in town. Because while china may be a little more overtly controlling, the US is in the same game. They just use the frontman of their independent corporations to more subtly exert influence. But when we start trying to wrest some control back? Sure, that’s when the gavels turn to batons and guns.

So, in short, they’re not protecting us. They’re protecting themselves and their established order. Cracks are starting to show because people on the whole seem to be realizing this order doesn’t work for us, but for them. They will start to more overtly flex their power as this trend continues.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The big point is, how does that power get used?

There is no due process. So someone like Trump could just declare a company to be a foreign adversary. If this was like an Anti-Trust case that had to be built and proven in court we wouldn't have a problem with it. But it's not. You're just literally declaring it, no evidence required.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

If ByteDance continues sending the outlined Data to any offshore location defined as an adversarial nation, then:

So, this is an FTC Enforcement. Since you clearly have no idea what that means, the chairmen of the FTC vote on the specifics of the enforcement and then unless the company accepts the terms it almost certainly becomes contested in the courts where lawyers explain to the judge that they think this is or is not constitutional and lawful action by the FTC to which the judge gives their opinion, and then appeals courts can send the decision to other courts some of which may rule on the case voluntarily such as the SCOTUS (although that is quite rare).

EXAMPLE: Over their handling of data and disruption of local elections the FTC fined Facebook 5Bn USD on July 12, 2019. Facebook will be making installment payments for over a decade. This was a historic record fine, up from the previous highest being 168 Million USD in 2017 against Dish Network.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The company having to appeal in court is not due process. It's not due process if you break a law and it's not due process if they break a law. If you think the FTC making a declaration is due process then remember Ajit Pai and net neutrality. The rulings of those agencies can swing wildly between administrations. So right now it's ByteDance. But in the cursed world where the GOP gets this power it's whatever organization they don't like. Ever wonder if this could be used against a Union? They've wondered. And without a need for real evidence, (citing secret intelligence reports is also precedent), they don't even need to get an infiltrator into the Union's administration.

The courts are not the constitutional safety valve you want them to be. They've proven that time and time again. Rights require the people themselves to defend them. If you're in any doubt of that check out the difference between how we treat the 4th amendment and the 2nd amendment. And then realize SCOTUS ruled that police aren't soldiers because words (police didn't exist in 1792), and as such the 3rd amendment is a dead letter.

As to your example, The FTC had to have the DOJ file charges in court. So even in the example you found, they are using due process. This power is new, overly broad, and unconstitutional.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Courts of law aren't due process? Lmfao.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Not after the fact. They are due process when the government has to prove it's case before it can take punitive action. If the government is allowed to take punitive action without going to court to prove it's needed than there is no due process.

Why is that so hard to understand?

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I guess parking tickets aren't due process either, then.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You realize the ticket is actually a court date right? Most people just choose to plead guilty and pay the fine.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That is literally analogous to an FTC fine in every way.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This isn't a fine. And there's no requirement to file charges in court and prove data is being mishandled.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago

If we're being semantic this isn't an anything because the only thing it says is that the FTC can do FTC things to any company that sends data to an adversarial nation.