Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action • Hacker News Board

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#131

Post by dragonwriter » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:06 AM UTC

nan0 wrote: post #49

Could this be the same as a tit for tat measure like with tariffs? China has banned a lot of US services and forced US corporations to pull content from their stores too [0] [1]. Genuinely asking and want to remain open-minded about this. 0: https://www.gadgetsnow.com/slideshows/10-popular-apps-and-we... 1: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.news18.com/amp/news/tech/ch...

> Could this be the same as a tit for tat measure like with tariffs?

It certainly hopes to provoke a cycle of retaliatory escalation, because it's an election year stunt looking to distract from, well, a whole lot of other things with a manufactured international crisis to create a rally-around-the-flag effect.

It will probably fail as a political strategy somewhat less spectacularly than “let’s avoid having a national strategy to control the COVID-19 pandemic and behind-the-scenes obstruct state efforts because the early impacts are in Democratic-governed states and we can leverage the impacts for political gains by blaming the governors.”

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#132

Post by coliveira » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:06 AM UTC

The US is acting like a desperate country that has no idea what it is doing. It is evident to the whole world that the US doesn't want to compete at the level of high technology, which is what the Chinese have achieved in the last couple of years. Whenever a country tries to create a fence around it, then it is just displaying weakness. It would be much more constructive for the US to recognize that they're getting behind in the technology game and compete as adults.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#133

Post by billfruit » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:08 AM UTC

busymom0 wrote: post #111

tchaffee wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because we live in a relatively free country where the government doesn't choose what software we buy or use.

When it comes to national security, similar to Huawei, this can all be done.

Such naivety on display here, I am alarmed for HN. National security isn't blanket grounds for doing anything. There are limits to president's and executives and even legislatures authority. Arbitrarily nothing can be done in our system. Unless US government probably demonstrates to the public that this measure is required, such a ban cannot be condoned.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#134

Post by grazhero99 » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:08 AM UTC

akersten wrote: post #101

grazhero99 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> advanced persistent threat to US democracy I don't see what this has to do with our electoral system. That seems like a rather narrow and emotionally charged stance to take on this issue in my opinion.

The executive branch taking wild swings to impose rules that even congress would struggle to pass through constitutional review, is a threat to the democratic principles on which the US is based.

Why would congress struggle to pass it through a constitutional review?

Plenty of Trump's EOs have been ruled unconstitutional. He may feel that his authority extends beyond checks and balances, but it doesn't. His attempts to abuse his power have been duly mitigated and stopped about as well (or badly depending on how you look at it) as the last few presidents, as I see it.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#135

Post by khuey » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:08 AM UTC

euix wrote: post #48

Shows how far the balance of power has shifted in the last 20 years back when the Chinese government was banning western products to prevent "spiritual pollution" and "western influence". Now we got the reverse and it's also for ideological reasons (at least at face value). Wonder if WeChat is next. That would be fairly effective in prevent overseas Chinese from communicating with the mainland and a lot of mom and po…

It's worth noting the reason axing WeChat would be effective is that every other widely used communication app on this planet is already blocked by China.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#136

Post by cromwellian » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:09 AM UTC

This will be a huge gift horse to Zuckerberg/Facebook and I have a sneaking suspicion it's a project of Peter Thiel. There are a lot of remedies that could be taken if we suspect TikTok of malfeasance, but a straight up ban? I smell fish.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#137

Post by hourislate » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:09 AM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #118

euix wrote: post #48

Shows how far the balance of power has shifted in the last 20 years back when the Chinese government was banning western products to prevent "spiritual pollution" and "western influence". Now we got the reverse and it's also for ideological reasons (at least at face value). Wonder if WeChat is next. That would be fairly effective in prevent overseas Chinese from communicating with the mainland and a lot of mom and po…

> Shows how far the balance of power has shifted in the last 20 years back when the Chinese government was banning western products to prevent "spiritual pollution" and "western influence". Yes, now it's the US doing desperate acts of authoritarianism out of weakness.

Have you considered a Chinese App on 10's of millions of phones across the US and the security implications? I would think an adversary like China could very well take advantage of that.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#138

Post by mark2996 » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:09 AM UTC

busymom0 wrote: post #121

YarickR2 wrote: post #100

This seals Trump's fate at elections. Young voters will dump him on a blink of an eye

Most of Tiktok users aren’t of voting age.

60% are over 18. Granted 18-25 year olds don't vote.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#139

Post by surround » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:09 AM UTC

Cyclone_ wrote: post #66

surround wrote: post #37

I’m torn. On one hand, we’ve seen how TikTok has been used by the CCP to extend the reach of its censorship, oppression, and surveillance. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the government should be deciding what software we’re allowed to have.

I don't think it's being banned due to CCP censorship, it's more a fear the CCP may be using it to spy.

Right, but TikTok is being used for censorship.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#140

Post by sueydhdj » Sat, Aug 01, 2020, 4:10 AM UTC

euix wrote: post #48

Shows how far the balance of power has shifted in the last 20 years back when the Chinese government was banning western products to prevent "spiritual pollution" and "western influence". Now we got the reverse and it's also for ideological reasons (at least at face value). Wonder if WeChat is next. That would be fairly effective in prevent overseas Chinese from communicating with the mainland and a lot of mom and po…

The point isn't to stop Chinese people from phoning home so a lot of that would be silly. Social media platforms that go mainstream are incredible propaganda and normalization tools, especially when their key demographic is a nation's youth. No one cares about WeChat because it's not nearly as influential in America and probably never will be.