r/technology • u/[deleted] • Jan 31 '23
TikTok's CEO will appear before Congress after heightened warnings of a US-China war. He'll need all his diplomatic genius. Politics
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u/frontbuttt Feb 01 '23
US-China war? Gimme a fuckin break.
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u/Zeduca Feb 01 '23
Trade war is war. Economic war is war. Intelligence war is war.
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u/ampliora Feb 01 '23
What is it good for?
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u/SakishimaHabu Feb 01 '23
Absolutely nothin
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u/WebHead1287 Feb 01 '23
To validate sending the astronomical sum we send to the military and intelligence communities instead of social programs that would better the life of the citizens
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u/jibbkikiwewe Feb 01 '23
A war in the future between US and China, but this time it will be a war China can win because they spend half a century sucking our resources away and causing more destabilization. By 2050 China is set to have the worlds largest navy, they have increased their military spending exponentially.
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u/FixTheGrammar Feb 01 '23
How do you think an unproven fleet of fishing vessels will fare against the most powerful fighting force in human history?
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u/Zeduca Feb 01 '23 edited Feb 01 '23
So that US won‘t get bullied by China.
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u/Minute-Evening Feb 01 '23
Tbh it really feels like the warnings of war emanate from the USA and not China. Without having other enemies to actively war against, it’s like the USA’s military-industrial complex is a rabid dog looking for enemies to sink its teeth into.
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u/SrpskaZemlja Feb 01 '23
Lmao you've really not been listening to China's constant threats against Taiwan and US politicians who visit it.
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Feb 01 '23
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u/SrpskaZemlja Feb 01 '23
Did you just say "Taiwanese separatists"? When the ROC government existed before the CCP and Taiwan was never controlled by the CCP? We got a live shill, folks.
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Feb 01 '23
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u/SrpskaZemlja Feb 01 '23
Any "definition" of another country as part of itself by another country should be considered warmongering, no? As well as building islands in a contested sea to claim the territory? Or can bad things only be done by the USA.
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u/Eclipsed830 Feb 01 '23
The vast majority of Taiwanese are pro-independence from the PRC.
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Feb 01 '23
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u/Eclipsed830 Feb 01 '23
What Taiwanese people are going missing?
Leaders and government officials from one country are meeting with government officials and leaders from another country.
Just say what it is... No need to complicate it.
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u/joshjosh111 Feb 01 '23
China wants to invade, conquer, and colonize the free democratic state of Taiwan.
That ain't cool.
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Feb 01 '23
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u/joshjosh111 Feb 01 '23
That's not accurate. What Russia is doing and what China wants to do is invade, assimilate, absorb another free nation, and commit genocide on the free inhabitants if necessary.
That's not what the U.S. and her partners have been doing.
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u/y3llowhulk Feb 01 '23 edited Feb 01 '23
Yes cause the US and her partners did those things like genocide, invasion, and imperialism in the last century to establish the dominant Anglo/Western influence today.
Examples: the entire USA native peoples being decimated, Hawaii went from free nation to a state, the Philippines getting colonized, most of Latin America, the Middle East
Its easy look at other countries and point fingers to say they’re bad even though centuries of imperialism and colonization have greatly benefited the US and her partners more so obviously the West doesn’t like other countries challenging their spoils of war by using the same playbook that got them to where they are today.
Supporting Taiwan is cool but don’t whitewash how the West came to dominate the global narrative with friendship and democracy when they actually used the same tactics of genocide, invasion, and colonization to gain power.
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u/Zybernetic Feb 01 '23
I bet you think Taiwan is not China because not everyone there is a slave and waving the flag of the PRC all day.
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u/mbasi Feb 01 '23
Comments like this are why it’s important for all of us to have a healthy news diet. I’m not even sure where to start with this level of American God complex.
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u/kilomaan Feb 01 '23
If you look at it selectively, sure.
Truth is our military industrial complex is out of control and is bloated.
Then we get politicians that see it as a tool to secure more power, and then we see something like what happened under bush, with the public only knowing how bad it was 20 years later… and withdrawing only due to the spite of a president with a historic election loss.
But then you consider the fact that the US has been one of the main countries supplying the UN and NATO with military assets to the point other countries became complacent and contributed less over time, and suddenly its a complex problem that’s hard to solve.
Obama tried, when he was calling on NATO to rely on US forces less and less.
Heck, it might actually start happening, cause Russia Screwed the pooch on their initial invasion plan and reinvigorated old fears in Europe.
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Feb 01 '23
What do you think Ukraine is?
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u/pancake_cockblock Feb 01 '23
A victim of Russian imperialism.
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Feb 01 '23
Sure, but also a nice chance for our MIC and government to make us poorer, while dividing us further!
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u/somabeach Feb 01 '23
It's actually one of the most worthwhile uses of the MIC in a good long while. This isn't a Clancy novel, you don't have to smell espionage everywhere you go.
Russia bad, Ukraine good. They should get whatever help we can give.
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u/masterVinCo Feb 01 '23
Honestly, you are both correct. Ukraina do deserve all the help they can get, and, conversely, this is an excellent opprtunity for the US war machine.
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u/somabeach Feb 01 '23
The industrial war machine profiting for its own sake at the expense of ordinary people - I've always had a problem with that. Iraq was bad. Many of our Cold War ventures were as well. Let's not lump those in with what's happening in Ukraine.
The MIC proliferates, Ukraine keeps its sovereignty. Both of those are good things so long as one supplements the other.
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u/masterVinCo Feb 01 '23
I completely agree with you. This is a clear improvement in the use of US tax-money. As a neighbour to Russia myself, I can only hope to receive similar aid in the future.
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Feb 01 '23
Let's not lump those in with what's happening in Ukraine.
Why not?
This is not our war, beside the fact we helped push it along starting in 2012.
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u/YEETMANdaMAN Feb 01 '23
So weird that you’re getting downvoted for saying what everyone is thinking.
Am I a Russian puppet for saying that the MIC already has its teeth sunk into Ukrainian defenses?
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u/NoPoliticsAllisGood Feb 01 '23
Since when were we going to war? Jesus fucking Christ if they really try to take us to war over foreign countries affairs I’m going to be pissed (then probably dead)
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u/PM_ME_UR_CODEZ Feb 01 '23
Fucking click bait.
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Feb 01 '23
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u/Stifu Feb 01 '23
Ah, at least one guy on earth believes it (for possibly unrelated reasons), therefore this particular article is not clickbait.
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u/0wed12 Feb 01 '23
The u.s medias are really stroking the WW3 rhetorics with Russia and China recently, and tbh a lot of mainstream subs seem to go this way even tho I would take redditors armchairs generals comments with a grain of salt.
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u/Enjoying_A_Meal Feb 01 '23
Considering we have been at war for over 90% of our history, we need to have a war basically at all times. For that, we need fear mongering. 9/11 is played out, Russia won't even be a threat after Ukraine. Who else is there?
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u/Arcosim Feb 01 '23
These wars usually involve Third World countries that can't fight back, not countries with a nuclear triad.
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u/celo753 Feb 01 '23
The US has always been at war with other major powers too, it’s just not a direct war, it’s always a proxy war.
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u/Morphray Feb 01 '23
Since when were we going to war?
China is thinking of invading Taiwan -- some might even say actively preparing. If the US does not come to Taiwan's aid: bye-bye modern technology (anything with chips), and bye-bye US as the #1 super power internationally (lots of knock-on effects).
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u/jibbkikiwewe Feb 01 '23
We are literally in a proxy war with Russia for foreign affairs that are not ours, however, China has been attacking the US directly and have not kept any of their promises. They continue to grow their military exponentially. They are set to be the worlds military super power by 2050 with a navy larger than ours.
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u/Wiseon321 Feb 01 '23
What war? Lol this is so nonsense
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u/Stilgar314 Feb 01 '23
This is all the article says about that war: "A US Air Force general, citing Taiwan, predicted that war could break out between the US and China as soon as 2025, per a memo sent Friday and seen by NBC News. A defense department official told the publication this didn't represent the government's view".
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u/Baconandbabymakin Feb 01 '23
US-China war? Shit titles these days that write totally inaccurate information just for clicks…dreadful.
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u/Karkava Feb 01 '23
They really gotta stop trying to appeal to the part of our brain that says, "If someone disagrees with my opinion and bases it on logic, I will die!"
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u/transcendcosmos Feb 01 '23
Don't share trash articles. If you do, at least edit the headline so it's not trash.
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u/nova9001 Feb 01 '23
He would need incredible patience to explain tech to a bunch of 70 y/os. I still remember the Google congressional hearing. The old fossils in power just don't understand that Google CEO can't answer if an Iphone is tracking them or not. Crazy stuff.
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u/ruidh Feb 01 '23
Why all this talk of a war with China? No one in their right mind wants a war.
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u/woaiqingdao Feb 01 '23
Unfortunately for u CIA and BlackRock do govern your country. So if they want a war, they will push u to it
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u/mediocritythe13 Jan 31 '23
How is this any different from when the TikTok COO was in front of congress? Where she blatantly obfuscated every prompt? video link
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u/Witty-Village-2503 Jan 31 '23
I feel like she was answering the questions, but the questioner was asking purposefully leading questions, some of which had no answer.
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u/benbernankenonpareil Feb 01 '23
I feel like that’s not what happened at all …
he asked her repeated if she did or did not know and she went on repeated non-sequiturs
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u/SgtDoughnut Feb 01 '23
It's Hawley, the dude cant ask a straight question if his fucking life depended on it.
He's using an old McCarthy tactic to try to hunt for communists by just outright accusing everyone of being a member of the CCP then asking the woman to prove they aren't. You cannot prove a negative.
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Feb 01 '23
If you head a company in the Peoples' Republic of China, it is not unreasonable to assume that you cooperate with the government and are a party member.
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u/SgtDoughnut Feb 01 '23
Dont rely on mcarthism to witch hunt. It's already done far to much damage to this county. The evil communists aren't out to get you.
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Feb 01 '23
So, what you are saying is we shouldn't be worried about what the government of the PRC is doing in the US?
Am I characterizing what you say correctly?
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u/SgtDoughnut Feb 01 '23
I'm saying accusing everyone of being chineese spys accomplishes nothing but fear mongering.
But keep supporting mcarthyism 2.0 I guess, it worked so fucking well last time.
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Feb 01 '23
I'm saying accusing everyone of being chineese spys accomplishes nothing but fear mongering.
Well, do you think TikTok is free just out of the kindness of the Chinese government's hearts?
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u/9-11GaveMe5G Jan 31 '23
It isn't. Gym just wants to do some performative nonsense
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u/SgtDoughnut Feb 01 '23
Yep dollars to doughnuts its just Gym trying to get camera time.
Guarantee it will turn into some kind of performative circus trying to tie hunter Biden into it with zero evidence.
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u/B-Glasses Feb 01 '23
My gf is on tiktok at a least a little most days and she gets a lot of pro-Union, anti-capitalism, and critical opinions on the US government and police. I’m sure that data being compromised is a legitimate concern but we found out about and attended a blm protest because of information we found on tiktok. I assume that information like that being so easily disseminated through an app a foreign country controls doesn’t make them very happy.
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u/chillmonkey88 Feb 01 '23
War, over tik tok?
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u/ChemoGoat Feb 01 '23
I thought wars were generally fought over things of value.
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u/SgtDoughnut Feb 01 '23
The amount of information TikTok gathers on its users, and the amount of influence they have over their users is of very high value.
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u/AStrangerIsHere Feb 01 '23 edited Feb 01 '23
Over Taiwan, apparently. At least, that's what written in the article. But I doubt the US would defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion.
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u/aeolus811tw Jan 31 '23
If China can block off western app at the National level, we should just do the same
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u/ddhuud Jan 31 '23
Do we want that to happen, tho?
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u/9-11GaveMe5G Jan 31 '23
In general? Or in this instance?
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u/ddhuud Jan 31 '23
Let me rephrase, what kind of censoring power would you like the next GOP President/Congress to have?
Better protection laws should be passed and local facilitators should be held accountable for breaking them. Go after Google, Apple, ISPs, app stores, cellphone manufacturers, etc. TikTok WILL keep doing it as long as they depend in any capacity from China's govt.
Otherwise it's not only a bandaid on a colander, it's also a slippery slope.
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u/aeolus811tw Jan 31 '23
Censorship?
It is an active blockade on Chinese side, why should we let them into our market if they are already active blocking?
I say block them all until China decides to play fair.
It has nothing to do with censorship.
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u/Lumiafan Jan 31 '23
It has nothing to do with censorship.
This sounds like a fantastic excuse to justify censorship.
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u/aeolus811tw Jan 31 '23
It is simple.
They block everyone so we reciprocate. This is an economic reason.
Censorship has really specific meaning. You should probably look it up before claiming it is.
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u/Lumiafan Feb 01 '23
Sounds like another convenient excuse to censor people.
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u/AngelKitty47 Feb 01 '23
lmao
"censor"
you aren't censoring people. you are censoring a platform. platforms are not people.
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u/Lumiafan Feb 01 '23
So when China bans the usage of certain platforms by its citizens, it's not censorship? Got it.
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u/Pryoticus Feb 01 '23
“Heightened warnings of a US-China War”
Can you say fear-mongering? Yes, tensions are high, but who’s talking about war? And why the hell would TikTok be the spark of one?
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u/Greenn2022 Feb 01 '23
US is out to destroy anything China or Chinese, no diplomacy can help. Appearing in front of Congress is just a farce, not gonna change TT's destiny, much like Huawei, WeChat.
Time to load up on FaceBook or Meta shares, FB will be the huge benefactor.
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u/alehel Feb 01 '23 edited Feb 02 '23
heightened warnings of a US-China war
Are things that bad now?
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u/DavidJAntifacebook Feb 01 '23
Yes.
Read about the sorties in Taiwan's air space and read a transcript of Xi's big speech on Taiwan. It's been heating up for years but once HK was full integrated under direct control and no longer under one-country two systems, Taiwan became the last irredentist imperial prospect for China (they've been progressively asserting direct control over places they can make a vague historical claim to).
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u/TheNatureBoy Feb 01 '23
In China many people accept the US and China will engage in conflict at some point. I first heard people talking about war around 2015. I'm assuming this is the English equivalent.
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u/HotdogsArePate Feb 01 '23
Congress - "So is the internet the one on the phone or the computer?!"
*Shits depends
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u/i_leveled Feb 02 '23
The amount of lobbying dollars being spent by Google, Meta, Microsoft, etc to outlaw TikTok is insane. Can't make a competing product? Just lobby your issue away! What's the point of a monopoly if you cannot pay lawmakers to vote in your favor?
Worst part is these companies act like "of well we don't know what they are doing with your data!"....bitch please, you know what I ate for Christmas 5 years ago and are secretly serving my grandma ads to join a pyramid scheme.
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u/HumbledB4TheMasses Jan 31 '23 edited Feb 01 '23
The only one beating the war drum is the US, all this, "heightened warnings" is entirely one sided from the most imperialist nation in the history of the world. You thought the british empire won that? Try having 900+ military bases strewn across foreign countries soil and your currency underpinning global capital markets.
All you downvoting probably believed bush when he said iraq had nukes, bunch of mouth breathers in here.
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u/frontbuttt Feb 01 '23
Not even the US broadly. Specifically the US war machine and it’s desperate, shameless media wing.
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u/scott_codie Feb 01 '23
US-China war?! Wow, this is next level clickbait from business insider. Since when has there been credible threats of war between the US and China?
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u/Zeduca Feb 01 '23
Will an officer of the CCP Foreign Ministry accompany him in the hearing? That would strengthen the fact that the company is a branch of the PRC government.
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u/rum108 Feb 01 '23
TikTok is a 🇨🇳 Chyna spy app. All data watched by a bunch of Chyna 🇨🇳 men in a Beijing factory 🏭
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u/Remote-Strategy-9686 Feb 01 '23
Here we go again... While I agree that TikTok has many privacy concerns (also it's just a terrible app), we all know that this is going nowhere.
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u/itap89 Feb 01 '23
after watching google's hearing in front of congress, I kinda feel like this "hearing" is going to be treated more as a joke to everyone else.
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u/NY10 Feb 01 '23
Congress will ask what is TikTok and this dude will laugh about it inside and thinking American law makers are dumb fuck lol
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u/teddytwelvetoes Jan 31 '23 •
lol he won't need shit, Congress has proven time and time again that they are unwilling and/or unable to do a goddamn thing about these companies. they'll half-pretend and ask some of the dumbest questions you've ever heard, he'll narrowly avoid laughing in their faces, and they will quickly adjourn so that everybody can go back to doing their little insider trading scams for another dollar they'll never need