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US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

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Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#101

Post by [deleted] »

vbezhenar wrote: post #75
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, separate from the Trump Administration's actual motivations (which I think are at best vague and at worst petty retaliation), I thought this NY Times editorial made a pretty strong case in favor of banning these platforms: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/opinion/tiktok-wechat-ban... TikTok and WeChat benefit from being the only social networks that can be accessed from all of the largest internet markets in th…

Imagine that Russia bans Facebook because of those reasons. Do you think that would be a good move?

[deleted]

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#102

Post by Bhilai »

6DM wrote: post #11
technoplato wrote: post #8

I’m genuinely curious what the perceived threat is here. Is it as simple as “China is going to read everyone’s stuff and use machine learning to figure out what the cool kids are doing and then brainwash them?”

General election interference, manipulating public perception by constantly suggesting pro-CCP propaganda, aggravating the general public to turn on each other, tracking vocal anti-CCP individuals and potentially targeting them while traveling abroad. That's a few off the top of my head.

US interferes in elections in many countries[1]

[1]https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/the-us-has...

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#104

Post by didibus »

Bhilai wrote: post #94
TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling the ban evil is a bit hyperbolic IMO, or maybe just incomplete. Phones with the software could easily be compromised. Users with the software can be profiled and tracked by the Chinese government pretty easily. The Chinese market bans most of America's social media software, and we're entering a trade war. All these are real, legitimate reasons to ban it.

> The Chinese market bans most of America's social media software, and we're entering a trade war. America is not China and should not frame its policies based on China's policies. While, I agree there is a need to retaliate but 'be like China' is hardly the way to do it.

I agree that the US shouldn't justify acting like an autocratic state because China does so, but on the side of punishing an autocratic state there is precedent all over the place. The question we should ask is more how the US ever allowed China such exception in the first place, when Cuba for example has a full on total sanction against it, and so do many other autocratic states. So how did China get away without that for so long?

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#106

Post by rrrrrrrrrrrryan »

vbezhenar wrote: post #79
SomeHacker44 wrote: post #2

US Government just provided another case study in why we need to be able to side load apps.

Ban is a heavy word. Can Google issue command to android phones to stop running some particular program? For example as a security measure to stop malware? I think that Google have that ability, even if that malware was side-loaded. Apple definitely can do that on Macs. That feature could be abused to prevent running any forbidden program and side-load won't help you. Android is still better than iOS in that regard,…

There should be an option to opt-in to side loading, and opt-out of remote app deletions.

Bury them deep in settings, have a ton of recurring confirmation prompts, etc., but we should have laws to ensure these options are available on the devices we own.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#107

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

entropea wrote: post #81
kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watch the latest Triumph bit from the Colbert show to see the mentality of Trump supporters. We are living in an idiocracy now. 51% of Americans have no critical thinking skills. The "issues" are whatever you can use to trigger an emotional response from someone who is easily manipulated.

>Watch the latest Triumph bit from the Colbert show to see the mentality of Trump supporters. Not a defense of Trump supporters here, but do we know how many were edited out that intelligently spoke on issues to form the Triumph bit? Without that, you can't really make any determinations. On top of that, the sample size is likely very small.

Editing doesn't matter. They all signed a release knowing that their recorded statements were perfectly fine in their own heads.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#108

Post by a1369209993 »

zaksoup wrote: post #52
dheera wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PSA: If you have an Android phone, you can download WeChat directly from wechat.com. You don't need to go through the Google Play store because your OS supports your freedom to some degree to install whatever you want on hardware that you OWN. If you have an iPhone, sorry that your phone company's CEO is pretty much a dictator and is complicit in restricting the freedom of Americans.

How come the argument "you can just buy an android phone" doesn't apply to iOS users in the same way "you can just sideload an APK" does to Google play store users? This isn't a rhetorical question, I'm genuinely curious about how people think of these distinctions.

Because the former requires replacing everthing else on the phone and the phone itself, whereas the latter, as far as I can tell, has no negative effects beyond the sideloaded APK possibly being malicious, ie no negative effects artificially imposed by the phone maker.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#109

Post by newen »

wonnage wrote: post #47
newen wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump wasn't elected because of magic mind hacking by Facebook or whatever. He appealed to issues that people were concerned about, whatever you may think of those issues, and so they voted for him.

This is the same logic used by people who insist ads don't work on them, because "I never click them!"

Give me a break. All politicians put ads on Facebook. Surprising I know but Clinton put ads on Facebook too. Obama puts ads on Facebook, he gets marketing awards. Trump does the same thing and suddenly it’s armageddon and the Russians are coming.

Re: US bans WeChat, TikTok from app stores, threatens shutdowns

#110

Post by akersten »

When will Apple and Google come out and say "no" to this? What is the legislative mechanism that gives the Dept of Commerce control over what code (speech) is transmitted on their app platform?

Calling it a "transaction" is a stretch - using that logic, Department of Commerce could ban any online download they wanted. That's clearly not a good outcome, and not an interpretation we as technologists should accept.

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