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Comment by sapphicsnail | Hacker News Reader

I find this so confusing. Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk are foreigners who are both demonstrably influencing American politics through media they control. What makes Tiktok different?

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The same thing that would make a platform with ties to Russia different. It falls under the influence of a sophisticated geopolitical adversary.

Tesla is headquartered and has most operations based in the US. Murdoch's ventures are similar AFAIK.

Given how much surveillance modern vehicles do I wouldn't be surprised if imports start being subjected to additional scrutiny at some point. But at least most vehicles can't be used to subtly and intentionally manipulate the owner's perception of the world so I guess the stakes are a bit lower.

TikTok probably didn’t make friends and pay bribes to the right people.

Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk are both American citizens. In fact, one of Murdoch's primary reasons for becoming an American citizen in 1985 was to comply with the Communications Act of 1934, which prevented him (or any non-citizen) from owning more than 25% of a broadcasting company.

Here's a piece of history from 1985 that talks about it: https://archive.ph/HlHrx

Rupert Murdoch has exclusively been a US citizen for 40 years.

But really, what makes Tiktok different is China.

The idea that Murdoch and Musk are not really American and are instead foreigners is a disgusting anti-immigrant sentiment.

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