美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Biden administration wants TikTok sold or banned. Is that constitutional?

The Biden administration wants TikTok sold or banned. Is that constitutional?

Transcript¹

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer asks Georgetown University professor Anupam Chander about the constitutionality of a Biden administration ultimatum² that TikTok be sold or banned

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

The U.S. government is giving the Chinese owners of TikTok an ultimatum. The app is owned by ByteDance, which is based in Beijing. And the Biden administration is demanding that ByteDance sell TikTok or face a nationwide ban. The administration says it's a national security risk for China to have access through TikTok to the personal data of Americans. But how high is that risk? And would a ban be constitutional? Anupam Chander is a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University. He is with us. Good morning.

ANUPAM CHANDER: Good morning.

PFEIFFER: Has the U.S. government proven that TikTok is a national security risk?

CHANDER: I think, right now, the case is in the hypothetical. Because it's based in China and because China has laws that require local companies to share data under the existing system with intelligence services, the worry is that it might be forced to share data of Americans with the Chinese government.

PFEIFFER: So it's a hypothetical. Is it a hypothetical paired with any evidence so far?

CHANDER: No, not as far as the United States government has shown either to the public or to the courts.

PFEIFFER: But in your view, it is a legitimate³ concern?

CHANDER: It's certainly a legitimate concern, but it's one that we share with lots of apps. There's lots of different ways to obtain data from Americans. And TikTok is only one of a host of different ways.

PFEIFFER: And we certainly know that many United States companies have apps that collect data. But it is a different concern when a foreign country may be collecting that data.

CHANDER: Absolutely.

PFEIFFER: The Trump⁴ administration also tried to ban TikTok but lost in court. How is this attempt by Biden different? Or is it different?

CHANDER: I think it is a little different. The focus in the Trump administration seemed to be to pass it into the ownership of the hands of a company which was run by his political friends. This is hopefully not that effort. And I don't think the Biden administration will say it has to be done in 45 days, which was the Trump administration's guidelines⁵, or said to be a very American corporation, which I think was the language that President Trump used. So I think this will be different. But it still feels similar and surprisingly similar in other ways as well.

PFEIFFER: Would there be other or better ways to deal with the security threats apps like this pose⁶ than banning them? And by the way, as we've seen in places like Iran, there are ways to get around bans. You find a private VPN, for example.

CHANDER: Yeah. So Americans may turn to VPNs, which would be unusual. It would feel like someplace like Iran or China...

PFEIFFER: Right (laughter). Right.

CHANDER: ...Indeed, when we're looking for VPNs to avoid an app ban. But there are other ways, which include, for example, making data not saleable on the third market without permissions, etc. So we have lots of ability to gather data just by purchasing it on the open market, not to mention auditing⁷ and other systems to make sure that the data is well-protected.

PFEIFFER: And you may only have time for a yes or no answer to this. But is there any precedent⁸ for a forced sale of a foreign-owned company?

CHANDER: Yes. So we did require apps like Grindr, which is a dating app, to be sold. But those apps pose different kinds of espionage⁹ risks than this app.

PFEIFFER: Thank you very much. Quite interesting. That's Georgetown law professor Anupam Chander. Thank you.

CHANDER: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

3 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 guidelines   

n.指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• The government has drawn up guidelines on the treatment of the mentally ill. 政府制订了对待精神病人的指导方针。
• Planners seem a little uncomfortable with the current government guidelines. 规划师似乎不太接受现行的政府指道方针。

6 pose   

vt.造成，陈述；vi.摆姿势，装腔作势；n.姿势

参考例句：

• He sat in a relaxed pose.他轻松自如地坐着。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend.他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

7 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

8 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

9 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。