[Chapter-delegates] TikTok Ban. How should ISOC respond?

[Hank Nussbacher]

On 10/12/2024 2:31, Dan York via Chapter-delegates wrote:

I know everyone is against Internet fragmentation, including myself but 
allow me to state an alternative view.
Governments have asked the technical community to self-police itself, 
yet we always wave our hands and say something like "but every 10 year 
old can use a VPN".  Tiktok has been on the radar of governments for years:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/tiktok-risks-pushing-children-towards-harmful-content/
https://www.adl.org/resources/article/sliding-through-spreading-antisemitism-tiktok-exploiting-moderation-gaps
https://www.dearasianyouth.org/literature/article/the-toxicity-of-tiktok
https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/information-technology/services/security/tiktok-use-privacy-risks

So what do some governments do when we as a technical community fail in 
our job?  Look to Australia as a case in point.
Look to this US ban winding its way through courts.  If we as a 
technical community continue to stick our heads in the sand and only 
file legal amicus briefs and not come up with technical solutions, we 
very well might see a tsunami of efforts like these that will truly 
fragment the Internet.

Regards,
Hank

>
>
>> On Dec 9, 2024, at 9:07 AM, Dr. Joseph Lorenzo Hall via 
>> Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>>
>> We are closely monitoring the current situation in the USA, 
>> particularly since TikTok may appeal to the US Supreme Court.
>
> I’ll note that this continues to unfold with TikTok filing an 
> emergency motion today for an injunction to stop the law from taking 
> effect while they appeal to the US Supreme Court:
>
> - BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yx7e2lx3yo
> - TikTok: 
> https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-files-emergency-motion-for-injunction 
>
>
> The US Department of Justice of course filed a letter saying that the 
> appeals court should reject the injunction request.
>
> TikTok’s full filing is interesting reading for those wanting to dive 
> into detail: 
> https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.40861/gov.uscourts.cadc.40861.1208687888.0.pdf 
>
>
> As far as the next steps, the filing from TikTok includes this 
> information:
> ——
> Petitioners respectfully request a decision no later than December 16, 
> 2024, to ensure time to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court 
> if necessary. The parties have agreed on the following schedule: 
> Petitioners filed this motion by 10:00 a.m. on December 9; the 
> Government will file any response by December 11; Petitioners will 
> file any reply by December 12.
> ——
> So if the DC Court of Appeals goes along with that request, there 
> should be a decision about the injunction by next Monday.  This would 
> presumably determine whether TikTok has more time (if injunction is 
> granted) for an appeal to the US Supreme Court, or if they need to 
> make an emergency appeal.
>
> Not-a-lawyer-but-watching-with-fascination,
> Dan
>
> --
> *Dan York*, Senior Advisor  |  Internet Society
> york at isoc.org | +1-603-439-0024 | https://mastodon.social/@danyork
>