Linked List: April 14, 2023

Friday, 14 April 2023

Montana Passes Bill Blocking Users From Downloading TikTok ★

Uwa Ede-Osifo, reporting for NBC News:

Montana lawmakers passed a bill Friday blocking downloads of TikTok, the most significant action yet by a state yet against the app. The bill, SB 419, makes it illegal for app stores to give users the option to download the app and also illegal for the company to operate within the state. The bill does not, however, make it illegal for people who already have TikTok to use the app. A previous version of the bill sought to force internet providers to block TikTok, but that language was later removed.

The bill passed by a vote of 54-43.

Putting aside the fact that Montana is a small state (44th in population, 1.1 million people), it just doesn’t seem feasible to ban TikTok at the state level. Even if this goes into law and Apple and Google comply, Montanans can just cross state lines to download it. And what constitutes a “download”? When you buy a new phone and restore from your backup, your phone re-downloads all the apps you had installed on your old phone. Does this mean Montanans who already have TikTok will lose it if they buy a new device, or restore their current one?

I do think the U.S. should ban TikTok nationwide. But it seems futile — silly even — for states to do it piecemeal.

Print Editions of ‘Make Something Wonderful’ for Sale on eBay ★

Speaking of books, print copies of the Steve Jobs Archive’s Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in His Own Words — presumably copies given to folks at Apple and Disney — have hit eBay. Prices are really high — $500–1,000.

The website edition is a fantastic experience — thoughtfully designed, and implemented with handcrafted care — but I do wish the SJA had made the print edition available for retail purchase by the public. (I get it that the SJA doesn’t want to monetize this stuff, but they could sell these books and donate the proceeds to charities that Laurene Powell Jobs is involved with.)

I’ve lucked my way into a copy, and it’s as nice an object as you’d expect. Books can be such lovely artifacts in hand, tactile experiences, and this is one. The whole thing — web and print editions alike — is exemplary work from LoveFrom.