Jenna McLaughlin

I mean, I think because it's happening a step at a time, people don't necessarily realize how pervasive the surveillance is. Like crabs boiling in water, basically.

I mean, I think because it's happening a step at a time, people don't necessarily realize how pervasive the surveillance is. Like crabs boiling in water, basically.

I mean, I think because it's happening a step at a time, people don't necessarily realize how pervasive the surveillance is. Like crabs boiling in water, basically.

I mean, I think it all goes back to the ad economy, right? Which is that Every move you make in the commercial space, by and large, is tracked so that companies can build profiles of you about what kind of purchaser are you. Are you a Walmart purchaser or are you a Whole Foods purchaser? And what does that mean in terms of what your income and lifestyle and purchasing habits might be?

I mean, I think it all goes back to the ad economy, right? Which is that Every move you make in the commercial space, by and large, is tracked so that companies can build profiles of you about what kind of purchaser are you. Are you a Walmart purchaser or are you a Whole Foods purchaser? And what does that mean in terms of what your income and lifestyle and purchasing habits might be?

I mean, I think it all goes back to the ad economy, right? Which is that Every move you make in the commercial space, by and large, is tracked so that companies can build profiles of you about what kind of purchaser are you. Are you a Walmart purchaser or are you a Whole Foods purchaser? And what does that mean in terms of what your income and lifestyle and purchasing habits might be?

And then that allows them to target ads to you just to make us buy more stuff. It's the American way. And that data, though, is also really rich and detailed and also provides insights about individuals' political leanings potentially, their faith. All of these kinds of information may be inferred from a sufficient collection of data.

And then that allows them to target ads to you just to make us buy more stuff. It's the American way. And that data, though, is also really rich and detailed and also provides insights about individuals' political leanings potentially, their faith. All of these kinds of information may be inferred from a sufficient collection of data.

And then that allows them to target ads to you just to make us buy more stuff. It's the American way. And that data, though, is also really rich and detailed and also provides insights about individuals' political leanings potentially, their faith. All of these kinds of information may be inferred from a sufficient collection of data.

And that then becomes very useful to the government, which also fuels the market for this data to continue being collected and continue being sold.

And that then becomes very useful to the government, which also fuels the market for this data to continue being collected and continue being sold.

And that then becomes very useful to the government, which also fuels the market for this data to continue being collected and continue being sold.

One thing that I think is important to also remember in all of this is that the data isn't always accurate, right? I didn't know that. Yeah. They call it noise when they talk about data. You could be associated with the wrong people, the wrong cars, the wrong address.

One thing that I think is important to also remember in all of this is that the data isn't always accurate, right? I didn't know that. Yeah. They call it noise when they talk about data. You could be associated with the wrong people, the wrong cars, the wrong address.

One thing that I think is important to also remember in all of this is that the data isn't always accurate, right? I didn't know that. Yeah. They call it noise when they talk about data. You could be associated with the wrong people, the wrong cars, the wrong address.

And maybe that's fine if you're talking about marketing, but that's definitely not fine if the government is planning to take any action based on that data.

And maybe that's fine if you're talking about marketing, but that's definitely not fine if the government is planning to take any action based on that data.

And maybe that's fine if you're talking about marketing, but that's definitely not fine if the government is planning to take any action based on that data.

Absolutely. The government's other argument for why it wanted TikTok out of Chinese hands is because It said, well, the algorithm that TikTok uses could be used to manipulate American public opinion, which is, I think, an incredibly paternalistic argument. And generally, the courts are very reluctant to accept paternalistic arguments in the face of a First Amendment challenge.

Absolutely. The government's other argument for why it wanted TikTok out of Chinese hands is because It said, well, the algorithm that TikTok uses could be used to manipulate American public opinion, which is, I think, an incredibly paternalistic argument. And generally, the courts are very reluctant to accept paternalistic arguments in the face of a First Amendment challenge.