Like a meteor, the internet’s first truly global phenomenon flew bright and fast before getting burned up.
Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
On August 5, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a eulogy for the global internet. He didn’t call it that, of course; instead, in his weekly presentation to the media at the State Department, he celebrated the launch of an expanded effort, called the Clean Network initiative, “to keep Americans’ data safe from untrusted vendors.”
In addition to efforts aimed at cutting off Chinese telecommunications companies like Huawei — which is already barred from doing business in the U.S. — Pompeo announced the Clean Store initiative, a new name for the Trump administration’s recent war against TikTok, the Chinese video sharing app that is hugely popular among teenagers in the United States.
“We want to see untrusted Chinese apps removed from U.S. app stores,” Pompeo said from his podium. “With parent companies based in China, apps like TikTok, WeChat and others are significant threats to the personal data of American citizens, not to mention tools for C
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