EEUU

The End of TikTok Is a Propaganda Win for Beijing

MundoAméricaMundoAsia, ,

When President Biden signed a bill requiring that TikTok be divested from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, members of Congress hailed the law as a blow to Beijing. They shouldn’t be so quick to celebrate. The law would at best partially mitigate the hazards of misinformation or the risks to national security posed by China. The Communist Party, meanwhile, looks forward to a propaganda windfall, prizing off Washington’s mantle as champion of a free and open internet.

America’s moral authority on maintaining open internet platforms will look very different if it bans TikTok. After years of enduring American sermonizing about free speech and open trade, autocrats would now be able to cite Washington’s own example when they interfere with speech platforms that displease them.…  Seguir leyendo »

El presidente de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, en la Casa Blanca con el entonces presidente de EE. UU. Donald Trump, en 2020. López Obrador manejó la relación con Trump aceptando la naturaleza transaccional de la misma. Anna Moneymaker para The New York Times

MundoAmérica, ,

Queda menos de un mes para las elecciones en México. Y medio año para que Estados Unidos elija a su próximo presidente. En ambos lados de la frontera, funcionarios y políticos se preparan para el cambio de gobierno y también para una potencial victoria de Donald Trump, cuyo tiempo en la Casa Blanca se caracterizó por una retórica confrontativa y amenazante.

Estudian sus entrevistas, se preparan para deportaciones masivas y elaboran propuestas de políticas para llevar a la mesa de negociaciones.

Mientras México se dirige a sus elecciones presidenciales, programadas para el mes que viene, funcionarios y asistentes de campaña también se están preparando para otros comicios: una votación en Estados Unidos que podría llevar de vuelta a Donald Trump a la presidencia.…  Seguir leyendo »

President Biden speaks at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Capitol on Tuesday. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Reuters)

MundoAmérica,

As protests over the Israel-Gaza war have heightened the debate over the line between constitutionally protected speech and antisemitism, the House passed a bill last week that supporters say is intended to combat anti-Jewish speech on campus. On its face, the Antisemitism Awareness Act might seem like legislation that I, as an observant Jew, a proud Zionist, a strong supporter of Israel and a member of Congress who has spent a career fighting antisemitism, would easily support.

Instead, I voted against it, as did several other Jewish members of Congress. While I support the sentiment expressed by its sponsors, this bill does nothing to fight antisemitism in any meaningful way.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Three Faces of Don

MundoAmérica  

When I worked at Time magazine in the early ’80s, I bought a frame at the company gift shop that was a mock-up of the Time Man of the Year cover, but it was Mother of the Year. I put in a picture of my mom, looking chic in a suit, holding me as a baby.

I gave it to her for Mother’s Day as a goof.

But for Donald Trump, whose office at Trump Tower was an infinity mirror of his magazine covers, the annual Time rite has always been a serious obsession. He complained after it was changed in 1999.…  Seguir leyendo »

Las tres caras de Trump

MundoAmérica  

Cuando trabajaba en la revista Time a principios de la década de 1980, compré un marco en la tienda de regalos de la empresa que era una maqueta de la portada del Hombre del Año de Time, pero era la Madre del Año. Puse una foto de mi madre, muy elegante y con traje, sosteniéndome cuando era una bebé.

Se la regalé por el Día de la Madre.

Pero para Donald Trump, cuyo despacho en la Torre Trump era un espejo infinito de sus portadas de revista, el rito anual de Time siempre ha sido una obsesión seria. Se quejó después de que cambiaran el nombre en 1999.…  Seguir leyendo »

Let’s All Take a Deep Breath About China

MundoAméricaMundoAsia,

The amygdala is a pair of neural clusters near the base of the brain that assesses danger and can help prompt a fight-or-flight response. A prolonged stress response may contribute to anxiety, which can cause people to perceive danger where there is none and obsess about worst-case scenarios.

America’s collective national body is suffering from a chronic case of China anxiety. Nearly anything with the word “Chinese” in front of it now triggers a fear response in our political system, muddling our ability to properly gauge and contextualize threats. This has led the U.S. government and American politicians to pursue policies grounded in repression and exclusion, mirroring the authoritarian system that they seek to combat.…  Seguir leyendo »

People walk past an advertisement featuring the TikTok logo at a train station in Zhengzhou, China, on Jan. 21. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

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The same decision can be smart at the right time or disastrous at the wrong time. The recent passage of a bill that forces Chinese company ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a ban on the video-sharing app in the United States is one such case.

One of the main arguments for the bill, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in late April, was based on the long-held worry that ByteDance could use TikTok—especially under the influence or direction of the Chinese Communist Party or the Chinese government—to spread propaganda and influence its American users and maybe even interfere in U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

La policía de Nueva York se lleva arrestada a una persona que participaba en la protesta propalestina en la Universidad de Columbia,STEPHANI SPINDEL (EFE)

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, ,

El día después de la toma del Hamilton Hall en la Universidad Columbia por parte de la policía, algunos cientos de profesores y estudiantes graduados nos manifestamos a las puertas de un campus cerrado, vaciado y ocupado. Es, era, nuestro campus. Ahora sus edificios históricos, su césped impoluto, su monumental escalinata central, no son sino una privilegiada escenografía al servicio de otros. Desde hace tiempo, pero decisivamente desde la comparecencia frente a un comité del congreso de Nemat Shafik, presidenta de la universidad del día 17 de abril, el campus es literal y simbólicamente tierra tomada. Ese mismo día algunos estudiantes acamparon en el césped delante de la biblioteca, de forma pacífica, en uno de los lugares precisamente designados para la protesta.…  Seguir leyendo »

U.S. President Joe Biden at a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in New Albany, Ohio, September 2022. Joshua Roberts / Reuters

MundoAmérica

President Joe Biden has placed his economic record at the heart of his bid for reelection. His State of the Union address in March emphasized the achievements of his administration. “I inherited an economy that was on the brink”, he said. “Now our economy is the envy of the world”. Even though polls show that many Americans are skeptical of such a claim, the data suggest that the U.S. economy is in good shape. Unemployment remains low at 3.9 percent, inflation is down to 3.5 percent from its peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022, and consumer spending is growing robustly even as GDP growth has slowed from its more frenetic pace in 2023.…  Seguir leyendo »

Immigrants walking by the “floating barrier” in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, July 16, 2023. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Images

MundoAmérica,

It began as a small group: a few dozen travelers drifting towards the border, full of fear and hope, united in the belief that they could change their fates. Well-wishers along the route gathered to bid them good luck, to pray for them, to remind them that they were on a righteous path. The group’s ranks swelled as they inched towards the invisible line that divides the United States and Mexico. Authorities kept an eye on the procession from afar and likely from within, gathering intelligence on its members, some of whom were rumored to be criminals. Locals who lived near the border whispered about the threat of violence.…  Seguir leyendo »

‘You don’t have to agree with everything or anything they are standing for, but if you believe in democracy, surely you believe in their right to stand for it.’ Photograph: Craig Ruttle/AP

MundoAmérica, ,

Teaching an undergraduate class on democracy at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs this semester has felt urgent and clarifying. In the classroom, we’ve been looking at backsliding and the slow corrosion of democratic norms in so-called democratic countries. Meanwhile, what’s been happening outside the classroom in more than 120 universities around the US and the world tells us a more ominous story about democracy.

For two weeks, we focused on the United States; there were lively discussions on political polarization, January 6 and the threat posed by supporters of Donald Trump, as well as how robust or fragile US democracy currently is.…  Seguir leyendo »

‘Women across Florida and the south rushed to find money, transportation, a doctor and an appointment before the law took hold.’ Photograph: Octavio Jones/Reuters

MundoAmérica,

A Woman’s Choice, an abortion clinic in Jacksonville, usually sees somewhere between 10 and 15 patients a day. But last week, they extended their hours. On Monday, they scheduled somewhere between 70 and 80 patients, according to the Washington Post. The president of one reproductive health center spoke of warning her incoming patients about the scenes they would encounter at Florida’s abortion clinics. “We’re telling them, ‘Hey, it’s going to be busy,’” said Kelly Flynn.

For some, a deadline loomed after an anxious period of trying to scrape together the funding for the care they need: one doctor recalled calling patients who had delayed their appointments – in most cases because they hadn’t been able to secure enough money for the procedure yet – and reminding them that they don’t have much more time.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

Existe una gran desconexión entre la manera en que el presidente norteamericano, Joe Biden, y muchos economistas describen el estado de la economía estadounidense, y el modo en que la experimentan los ciudadanos comunes. De hecho, en el equipo de Biden se sienten frustrados de no recibir reconocimiento por la que consideran una economía fuerte (que atribuyen a las políticas de la administración).

Sin embargo, los votantes asocian “Bidenomía” con inflación. Por un margen de tres a uno, les dicen a los encuestadores que la economía y sus finanzas personales son “malas” o apenas “regulares”; más norteamericanos siguen creyendo que estaban mejor en el gobierno del antecesor de Biden, Donald Trump, y que las políticas de Biden han sido perjudiciales, no beneficiosas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Donald Trump giving a statement after the eighth day of his trial for falsifying business records, New York City, April 26, 2024

MundoAmérica,

On April 25 the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. United States, on whether a former president enjoys immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. The Court did not need to accept the case; it could easily have passed on former President Donald Trump’s extraordinary claims of blanket immunity and allowed his trial on federal felony charges for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election to go forward. But since a federal grand jury in Washington indicted him over the election, the Court has done everything possible, as I argued recently in these pages, to delay the case from being brought to trial: first by refusing to rule expeditiously on the immunity motions back in December, then by taking the case in February, then by setting oral arguments for the very last day on its schedule.…  Seguir leyendo »

Why the Military Can’t Trust AI

MundoAmérica, ,

In 2022, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses large language models to mimic human conversations and to answer users’ questions. The chatbot’s extraordinary abilities sparked a debate about how LLMs might be used to perform other tasks—including fighting a war. Although for some, including the Global Legal Action Network, LLMs and other generative AI technologies hold the promise of more discriminate and therefore ethical uses of force, others, such as advisers from the International Committee of the Red Cross, have warned that these technologies could remove human decision-making from the most vital questions of life and death.

The U.S. Department of Defense is now seriously investigating what LLMs can do for the military.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

Selon les soutiens au projet de loi « sur la protection des Américains contre les applications contrôlées par des adversaires étrangers », TikTok met à mal la démocratie, et menace la sécurité nationale, en permettant à la Chine de « surveiller et influencer la population américaine ».

TikTok soulève bien évidemment certains risques, mais cette application ne constitue qu’une partie minime d’un problème beaucoup plus vaste : l’absence de protection de la confidentialité des données et des libertés civiques aux Etats-Unis. En ciblant TikTok, les dirigeants politiques américains ne font que renforcer les concurrents de l’entreprise, tout en nuisant à la dynamique impulsée par les efforts de promotion de réglementations efficaces en matière de données et de transparence des algorithmes.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

En moins de cinq jours, la loi surnommée « TikTok Bill » a été adoptée par la Chambre des représentants, validée au Sénat et signée par le président Biden, le 24 avril. Objet de controverse depuis des mois, la nouvelle loi accorde un délai maximal de douze mois au réseau social pour rompre ses liens avec sa maison mère chinoise, ByteDance, sous peine d’une interdiction totale sur le sol américain. La détermination avec laquelle le Capitole a entrepris de faire plier l’application utilisée par 170 millions d’Américains a déjoué tous les pronostics.

De nombreux analystes avaient prédit que l’injonction du Congrès, « vendre ou bannir », tomberait à l’eau sous le coup de l’invocation du droit à la liberté d’expression (premier amendement de la Constitution) ou encore des jeux parlementaires préélectoraux entre les deux partis, et ce, à la grande joie de Pékin.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

Partout, l’expansion vertigineuse de TikTok, l’opacité de son algorithme et ses pratiques intrusives suscitent des polémiques qui débouchent sur des restrictions d’utilisation, voire des interdictions. Les reproches adressés à TikTok peuvent varier d’un Etat à l’autre, mais la controverse se cristallise essentiellement autour des menaces que l’application fait peser sur la sécurité nationale. Celles-ci peuvent être résumées en quatre points.

Premièrement, TikTok est accusé de recueillir les données privées – numéro de téléphone, localisation, informations financières ou encore adresse IP de ses utilisateurs. La direction de l’entreprise affirme que ces données ont pour seul but de faciliter le ciblage publicitaire et qu’elles ne sont en aucun cas envoyées à la maison mère chinoise ByteDance.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

Le vote d’un projet de loi ouvrant la voie à l’interdiction de TikTok aux Etats-Unis marque une nouvelle étape dans un psychodrame américain, avant d’être occidental, dans lequel TikTok est dépeint comme le cheval de Troie d’un Parti communiste chinois omnipotent.

La Chine étant devenue le principal rival des Etats-Unis, il n’est pas surprenant que Washington s’inquiète de la popularité d’une application chinoise – TikTok compte 170 millions d’utilisateurs outre-Atlantique, soit la moitié du pays. Dans un champ lexical qui n’est pas sans rappeler celui de la guerre froide, le monde politique américain dénonce pêle-mêle des tentatives de manipulation de l’information, le vol de données personnelles et les risques d’espionnage ; autant de dangers pour la sécurité nationale que seul un changement de propriétaire semble en mesure de prévenir.…  Seguir leyendo »

"In Taipei, I can walk down dark alleyways long past midnight with my purse wide open without fear of getting robbed," says Clarissa Wei, adding it's something she wouldn't feel comfortable doing in the US. Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images

MundoAméricaMundoAsia,

When my parents were growing up in the 1970s, they did not consider Taiwan an idyllic place to start a family. It was under martial law and the steady drumbeat of threats from China only seemed to be getting louder with each passing year. My dad still remembers the anxiety that engulfed the island when the United States cut off diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in favor of the People’s Republic of China in 1979. “We weren’t sure if America would protect us if there was conflict”, he told me.

And so, in their late 20s, they left everything they knew and moved to the suburbs of Los Angeles where I was born.…  Seguir leyendo »