Trump’s Attacks on TikTok and WeChat Could Further Fracture the Internet

Trump-administration moves herald a new, more invasive American philosophy of tech regulation, one that hews closer to China’s protectionist one, though without the aims of censoring content and controlling the populace. The shift could hurt American internet giants like Facebook and Google, which have greatly benefited from the borderless digital terroir outside China, as well as Chinese internet giants like Tencent and Alibaba, which have tried to expand into the West. If more countries follow President Donald Trump by basing digital controls on diplomatic allegiances, protectionist aims, or new concerns about the security of their citizens, the internet could become more of a patchwork of fiefs as varied as the visa policies that fragment world travel. While few countries have fully embraced China’s walled-garden approach to cyberspace, many governments are uneasy with the dominance of American giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon within their borders, and are considering new taxes and restrictions on their operations. As the Trump administration cracks down on TikTok and WeChat, other nations may start to see their dependence on US technology providers in a different light.