Yes, starting a CA just for DPRK/Russian/other US-sanctioned sites wouldn’t work, but having a large enough CA would make it impossible for Google/Mozilla/Microsoft to say no to the inclusion.

As Let’s Encrypt (and the Internet Security Research Group) have been pushing HTTPS the most, I think we should apply pressure to them to relocate to a country that allows them to issue TLS certificates to websites based in US-sanctioned countries. As the ISRG is currently based in the US, I don’t think they can currently bypass those US sanctions despite them wanting to be as politically neutral as possible.

As a techie, I believe automation is good, but it’s being utilized against the workers instead of helping the workers. While the moral thing to do as an employer would be keeping an employee who automates and documents tasks, employers with their regular lack of morals usually get rid of the worker to have a worker with a smaller salary study that documentation and continue the same work but with less pay. This “utilize and dispose” strategy only hinders the workers’ motivation to document and automate systems.

I do hate TikTok from the bottom of my heart due to its privacy concerns, but the ulterior motive of the TikTok ban is purely political and the act behind the ban is the next Patriot act. It’s more “Chinese propaganda bad, American propaganda good” than “We want to protect the data of American citizens”. If politicians were rational, they’d raid Google, Facebook and Amazon offices in addition to taking legal action against TikTok.