HEADLINES OF THE WEEK

Current Affairs
Written By Emily Guy

tiktok banned in the us

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that could see Tik Tok banned in America. 

With overwhelming bipartisan support, The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act has passed, with only 65 votes against and 352 votes in favour of the bill. 

The House of Representatives have moved in favour of the bill in light of suspicion that the app allows the Chinese government to access user data and influence Americans. With its highly addictive algorithm, there is concern that the Beijing based Company, ByteDance,  which owns Tik Tok, puts Americans in a vulnerable position. For this reason, President Joe Biden has also backed the bill. 

In last year's Court Battles, the US Government alleged that ByteDance was secretly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. In response, ByteDance has denied that it hands over any sensitive user data to the Chinese government. TikTok CEO, Shou Chew testified  that “ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government”, emphasising that it is a private company. Despite this, many legislators, including Republican vice chairman Marco Rubio, express fears that “every company in China is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party”.

Their fears are not unfounded as it is true that the Chinese government owns a one present stake in ByteDance and controls one of the three board members, a standard structure in Chinese based companies. The case made in court last year was wildly unsuccessful in easing the fears of American Legislators. 

As a result, the proposed and heavily supported bill will allow ByteDance six months to give up its ownership of TikTok, or it will be banned from America, the home of over 170 million users.

drug use increase in australia

The Consumption of illicit drugs including meth and cocaine have risen while alcohol usage continues on a downward trend, as found in the most recent water waste analysis. 

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) recently conducted a national Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, where they estimate the consumption of licit and illicit substances in Australia. They found that the consumption of methamphetamine has risen 17 percent from previous year's analysis, showing that Australians have used more than 10.5 tonnes of methamphetamine last year. Additionally, Australians consumed more than four tonnes of cocaine in the past year, meaning that usage has skyrocketed by 19 percent.

Last year Australians consumed more than 30 tonnes of illicit substances according to the ACIC report, which tested 62 wastewater treatment plants and covered more than half of the nation's population. In the report it was found that cannabis was the most commonly consumed illicit substance, estimated to be around 13.6 tonnes. Methamphetamine was the second most used illegal drug, while it was found in a high quantity, the report states that a relatively small portion of the population consume it. Heroin was the only illicit drug that was seen to have a decrease in consumption, falling by 7 percent. 

The principal drug advisor at the ACIC told the ABC that it was “sobering” to see the extent of the illicit drug market in Australia. He cited that with “[so] many households struggling with the cost-of-living pressures… that’s money that is really only lining the pockets of cynical, organised crime groups”, going on to say that this is of no benefit to society. 

Contrarily, the Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research centre told the ABC that “the general view is that things have returned to baseline across the board, post COVID”.

Denmark conscripting women into the army

In the name of full gender equality, Denmark's Prime Minister has announced plans to conscript 5,000 men and women each year from 2026. 

For the first time, women will be conscripted for military service as part of a proposed restructuring of the armed forces. This overhaul comes amid growing tensions in Europe regarding Russia's war in Ukraine. Last year, 4,700 people took part in military service in Denmark, 25% of these women who did so on a voluntary basis for four months. While many of the men served on a voluntary basis also, many were conscripted through a lottery system, serving for up to 11 months. Under the new system, both women and men will be conscripted, being required to complete five months training and then another six months operational service in the army, air forces or navy. These plans are yet to be made law. 

The Prime Minister, Metter Frederiksen, said that “we do not rearm because we want war, We are rearming because we want to avoid it”. As part of this she endeavours to uphold “full equality of the sexes''. Flemming Lentfer, the chief of defence told the Guardian that this expansion was a “necessary foundation” for bolstering Denmark's defence in the face of Russia's aggression. He added, “In the armed forces, we support all initiatives that can expand our recruitment base and increase diversity. Here, a higher degree of equality between the sexes is both necessary and desirable”.

References:

Emily Guy
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