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Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

reuters.com

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Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#81
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Devils advocate - there is no evidence that it isn’t already occurring in subtle ways. Russia’s strategy is sowing discord, which would be fairly easy if one government controls the algorithm deciding what media the other country’s citizens sees.

so is just saying the words "national security" enough for you to believe that this is justified? should the US government be allowed to block any private company from doing business just by saying those magic words, with no further justification? or just any foreign-owned company? or just any chinese company - if it's china, what makes china special? there's got to be some limitation on where you draw the line on th…

Foreign controlled seems like a very clear dividing line that greatly limits abuse. It helps that unlike China, the United States has judicial review.

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#82
post #27

Something revealed in the recent court filings was how Bytedance spent over $1 billion in advertising on Facebook/Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. Apparently they were spending $10-$30 to acquire an active user and expecting to generate $5 of revenue per user in the US, implying a revenue payback period of 2-6 years. Some ugly unit economics.

That’s probably fine for a growth product. They’ll increase monetization once the network effect is well-established.

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#83
post #74
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Devils advocate - there is no evidence that it isn’t already occurring in subtle ways. This isn’t playing the “devil’s advocate” (which-the devil here does not need any advocacy) this is a request to prove a potential negative. Can we please retire the tactic of giving the devil representation in such a blatant and cavalier fashion?

Language adapts to common use, common use doesn’t adapt to linguistic rules. But I see your point.

[deleted]

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is the national security risk with TikTok?

I reckon it was probably just this: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/style/tiktok-trump-rally-...

> probably

Please. Perhaps you didn't realise that they already launched an investigation before the Tulsa rally and also against FaceApp for the same reason: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50639443

EDIT: Downvoters: So the concerns, investigation requests of both TikTok and FaceApp didn't occur in 2019 and for the former, the investigations didn't happen before the Tulsa rally? Are you sure? [0] [1]

[0] https://www.cotton.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1239

[1] https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tiktok-cfius-exclusive/exc...

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#85
post #51

Unlike some other commenters below, I don't believe that this is a privacy issue. Instead, I believe that it is a national security issue because TikTok is controllable by the CCP which is ideologically opposed to the United States. The next global conflict will likely be one between the east and the west, with control of information being advantageous to both sides in the conflict. China already blocks the western I…

> Instead, I believe that it is a national security issue Are you uncomfortable adopting that belief with literally no concrete evidence that anything of the sort is actually occurring? I don't know how you reconcile rule of law with such drastic interventions in the rights of companies without evidence of wrongdoing. If anything you can come up with in your most paranoid fantasies can be the basis of shutting down a…

Uh, welcome to international politics?

Every country on Earth gives its executive some discretion when dealing with foreign powers. The idea that TikTok should have the same due process rights as American corporations is naive (putting it mildly).

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#86

Unlike some other commenters below, I don't believe that this is a privacy issue. Instead, I believe that it is a national security issue because TikTok is controllable by the CCP which is ideologically opposed to the United States. The next global conflict will likely be one between the east and the west, with control of information being advantageous to both sides in the conflict. China already blocks the western I…

All national security issues are inherently privacy issues.

It's about how much you're willing to (or forced to) give up in the name of national security.

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#87
post #32

It's a national security issue. Plus, if you sue the government order from any courts in CA, you will win anyways these days. CA is too liberal to remain in US, I remember they were saying CA-Independence from USA after 2016, I can't wait to support it, but those people somehow did not proceed, very disappointed.

I don't think most Americans would be too keen to forfeit 15% of the country's GDP [1] to own the libs. [1] https://www.statista.com/chart/9358/us-gdp-by-state-and-regi...

I'm sure that they would, but wouldn't understand until it was too late.

when you cripple education systems, fewer people can think critically about issues and the ramifications of decisions are much more abstract.

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#88
post #62
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Instead, I believe that it is a national security issue Are you uncomfortable adopting that belief with literally no concrete evidence that anything of the sort is actually occurring? I don't know how you reconcile rule of law with such drastic interventions in the rights of companies without evidence of wrongdoing. If anything you can come up with in your most paranoid fantasies can be the basis of shutting down a…

> shutting down a company It's not a company. It's a division of a foreign government. That was the point being made. If it was an independent company, none of this would be happening.

https://www.bytedance.com/en/#corporate-structure

ByteDance Ltd. (Cayman) -> TikTok Ltd. (Cayman) -> TikTok LLC. (US)

Legally it is indeed a company and not controlled by the CCP, but exactly how much of its US operations are conducted and directed by non-US citizens on non-US soil is unknown.

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#89

Unlike some other commenters below, I don't believe that this is a privacy issue. Instead, I believe that it is a national security issue because TikTok is controllable by the CCP which is ideologically opposed to the United States. The next global conflict will likely be one between the east and the west, with control of information being advantageous to both sides in the conflict. China already blocks the western I…

> TikTok is controllable by the CCP

Are we, years after the Snowden revelations, still pretending that USA is any better?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security_letter

Re: Judge temporarily blocks U.S. ban on TikTok downloads from U.S. app stores

#90

Unlike some other commenters below, I don't believe that this is a privacy issue. Instead, I believe that it is a national security issue because TikTok is controllable by the CCP which is ideologically opposed to the United States. The next global conflict will likely be one between the east and the west, with control of information being advantageous to both sides in the conflict. China already blocks the western I…

>> The next global conflict will likely be..

Lol. The next conflict has been upon us for a while. Trade sanctions. Embargoes. Proxy wars. Information campaigns. We cannot see the forest through the trees.

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