Most of the debate on the Tiktok ban has had a rather myopic US-focus. I live in the UK and wanted to share a European perspective and ask my US colleagues to consider how things look from outside the US.
The US is complaining about the potential of malign influence and mass surveillance from a foreign government where there is no transparency, rule of law or right of appeal and redress — even though all the non-Chinese data is already held by Oracle – a US company. This makes mass surveillance a theoretical rather than a practical issue as the Chinese would be unable to serve a warrant on Oracle to access the data that it holds
In Europe we share many of the same concerns about Tiktok, but we also face well documented malign influence and mass surveillance from US tech giants, all of which are subject to secret FISA warrants from the NSA.
It is one thing having to accept that your own government needs to use warrants to enforce the law in your own country, but in Europe at least we have the assurance that there is independent judicial oversight, processes for appeal and redress and we always have the right to vote out a government that we don’t like.
It is a totally different thing to be subject to malign influence and mass surveillance from a foreign power like China or indeed by US tech giants run by messrs Musk or Zuckerberg or indeed a US administration that could be at the behest of a vengeful President Trump – especially as the European court has already ruled that there is no effective independent judicial oversight or redress within the current FISA arrangements.
So the question is:
Does Europe need to follow America’s lead and give US tech firms 180 days to sell their European operations, face a ban or at least enact FISA reform to provide its closest allies with basic protections, like independent judicial oversight and a means of redress?
Obviously this is simply a hypothetical question, because while FISA reform has been proposed, any kind of reform that addresses European concerns is most unlikely. Indeed give the gridlock in congress at present and the inability even to pass a federal privacy law, I see no chance of measures being enacted to provide independent judicial oversight or a means of redress either. This means that these basic protections will remain elusive not only for America’s closest allies, but also for its own citizens for some time to come.
I am not anti-American. Indeed I am actually a former officer in the Royal Navy who served alongside all our NATO allies in the era of the cold war as well as the first gulf war. I am simply pointing out that in any discussion on the merits of a TikTok ban, it would be worthwhile adopting a more international perspective, and considering basic protections from all malign influence and mass surveillance by all technology platforms.
And while America’s allies would like the next administration to sustain the USA’s commitment to NATO, we’d also like them to try to find time for some FISA reform (and maybe a federal privacy law). Providing your closest allies (and your own citizens) with basic protections, like independent judicial oversight and a means of redress, isn’t too much to ask, is it?
Footnote:
When I wrote this article, my main focus was on the lack of basic protections, and the need for independent judicial oversight and means of redress. However it has since been revealed that Rep Mike Gallagher has announced that he is going to resign from the US Congress and go to work for Palantir. This is notable because Gallagher was one of the most vociferous lawmakers calling for a TikTok ban and Panantir was lobbying heavily for the ban as it has a great deal to gain from it.
While the accusations of Chinese mass surveillance are largely theoretical and had the US data being held by Oracle been routinely accessed by the Chinese then we’d most likely know about it, the surveillance of user data held by US-owned technology firms is well known, extensive and ongoing. Firms like Palantit not only play a part in the surveillance conducted of the US-held data, but fearmongering about the threat from the Chinese while downplaying their own actions plays directly to their agenda and their own interests.
While I’d always argue that the need for basic protections, not only for EU citizens, but also for US ones and others across the globe, is obviously warranted, you need to judge the actions of the politicians and tech firms for yourself, and draw your own conclusions.
