I'm pretty sure most people who are doing this are trying, in their own way, to make a point.

It wasn't about "national security". It was about a large digital meeting place where ideas could be shared, or feelings and frustrations at their government could be seen and felt by others who felt the same. Big Brother doesn't like that, unless it is on US Corporate Approved Social Media, where they can promptly shut you down, or get their algorithm to put post with specific keywords out of the eyes of as many as possible.

So, instead of creating actual data privacy laws, as they should have, they decided to attack TikTok, because Mark Zuckerburg got in front of congress during whatever case it was that brought his lizard ass in the room (maybe the Cambridge Analytica scandal?) and said that TikTok was more dangerous than his own platform.

There you go. It was never about "national security", as there were much better ways to handle that than banning one single app.

I am still angry at Facebook for normalizing using your real name. That eroded a lot of basic security practices.

Now little 7yos share mommy's credit card in YouTube comments.

People are disgusted by the idea that one random person could track their every move and read everything they write.
Unless that person is employed at a large corporation.

I used to date a Google employee. They had a Signal chat where they shared screenshots of funny or interesting shit they saw on the user accounts.
And many abused their access to spy on ex-partners and the like.

We underestimated how little people trust the government compared to how much they hate china

I used to be disgusted that people didn't seem to care that they were risking their own privacy and national security to boot. But then I remembered that our own government won't do anything to keep our individual privacy in check from corporations. So as long as that's the case, I don't see why anyone should give a fuck. The government did this to themselves.

And hence EU and UK regulations are so fucking needed. GDPR and legal requirements for companies to follow is a god sent.

Got a cold email? &hit them with that sweet chat gbt copy pasta!

Makes sense as the only difference is jurisdiction, who steals your data, and what flavor the propaganda is. You got 2 bad options:

The fully automated ~~malware~~ "advertisement" system that steals every loose bit of information on device and sends it to the highest bidder and the US government(if they pay) while telling you how you feel and what to buy.

OR

The fully automated ~~malware~~ "for your safety" system that steals every loose bit of information on device and sends it to the Chinese government while telling you how you feel and that you love the government or else. As a bonus it will piss off a boomer in congress.

They clearly don't know or understand any alternatives otherwise they would go there.