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Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

rubio.senate.gov

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Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#171

Post by mikrl »

Technical and security issues aside, I wonder how the users are going to take it.

My generation (1992) didn’t have a major cultural phenomenon being attacked in this way, though there was still the moral panic around things like social media and research chems.

The closest comparison I can draw is the crackdown on raves which affected western Gen X youth, but TikTok is more pervasive and more heterogeneous as a form of cultural expression.

Copycats? Underground tiktok? Gen Z influencers calling for action against the feds? Acceptance of the government’s position?

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#172

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

mrtksn wrote: post #22
philjohn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US Tech firms products are largely banned in China, closing off a market of 1bn+ - why should Chinese firms have unfettered access to the US?

Because China is not a good example to follow. It is a dystopian state with full control of what their citizens have access to. Why would you want to have your government to choose the apps for you?

When you make up 25% of the global population - it's pretty hard for companies to compete when 25% of the global market is locked out.

The idea that we can allow China to ban all non-Chinese companies and then let Chinese companies "freely compete" with other global companies is insane, and I'm not sure why it's been going on for 30 years.

I guess because China was starting from so far behind that it took 20+ years for any Chinese companies to get to a point they are literal threats to western companies.

If we follow down this path of allowing China to gate access to 25% of the world and having our companies compete with theirs - there will mostly only be Chinese companies left...

That sounds infinitely more dystopian to me.

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#173

Post by spamizbad »

mrtksn wrote: post #7

Why not regulate how the data is used or stored, like the EU does, but ban? I'm really hoping this doesn't become a reality because if it does, we will end up with partitioned internet and stagnation. People often forget that the US companies are foreign entity for most of the worlds population and with the WikiLeaks revelations we know for a fact that the US government has access to the data of American tech compani…

SV failed to build social media products that appeal to Gen-Z so this is the "plan B". The only reason why TikTok is getting banned is because its popular. And the only reason why its popular is because US-based entrepreneurs seem to struggle building products that connect with users under the age of 30.

The irony is there was a product, Vine, that filled this niche but it was ultimately killed by Facebook (who promoted Tiktok because they didn't want Vine making inroads with their users) and Twitter (by not developing it further).

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#174

Post by dtjb »

maria2 wrote: post #111
mrtksn wrote: post #7

Why not regulate how the data is used or stored, like the EU does, but ban? I'm really hoping this doesn't become a reality because if it does, we will end up with partitioned internet and stagnation. People often forget that the US companies are foreign entity for most of the worlds population and with the WikiLeaks revelations we know for a fact that the US government has access to the data of American tech compani…

This has nothing to do with user data. People are influenced by the content they see on social media. Allowing a foreign adversary to run the main information network for an entire generation of the population is not a wise move.

What is a "main information network?" Are websites ok? Podcasts?

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#175

Post by AlexandrB »

dylan604 wrote: post #9
curiousllama wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost certainly not, at least in this iteration - but Meta's stock is up ~6%, so it's not nothing

This makes me wonder how much Meta is financing any lobbying effort to get this passed?

If they are, this could backfire spectacularly. Planting the idea that social media can be manipulated by the owners to persuade a population moves social media closer to traditional media companies and further away from mere "platforms" eligible for section 230 protection.

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#176

Post by moneycantbuy »

“We know it’s used to manipulate feeds and influence elections.”

The manipulation of society at scale by a foreign adversary is my biggest concern about tik tok. I imagine they can flip a switch or more likely a long slow push of american values to china’s liking. That and many people stare at it for a majority of their waking hours. Good riddance. withdrawals and who fills the vacuum will be interesting.

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#177

Post by kube-system »

somrand0 wrote: post #155
kube-system wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Western countries have always had trade restrictions on physical trade, why is digital trade different?

because digital assets have a fundamental difference with material ones. I'm referring to how digital assets can be owned non-exclusively, i.e. we can both have the same data. In contrast material (or physical) assets are exclusive. Either I have it xOR you do, we cannot both own the same thing. Stocks (and other sophisticated goods) are interesting because they mean we each own a fraction of something, even when tha…

That's just a general list of differences between physical and digital things.

Trade restrictions on physical goods don't exist due to matters of ownership.

> the same stock cannot be owned by multiple people at the same time.

This may be an irrelevant tangent, but that's entirely untrue.

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#178

Post by parineum »

rayiner wrote: post #100

I don’t understand the bi-partisan dislike of Tik Tok. As far as content goes, it’s pretty wholesome compared to what you see on movies and TV these days. It’s much better at giving kids age appropriate content than other sites. There is also a lot less commercialized stuff. Way better than cartoons that peddle toys and junk.

> As far as content goes, it’s pretty wholesome

Content really depends on the user. It's a very tailored experience.

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#179

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

noahtallen wrote: post #107
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not both? It's harder to write, agree on, and pass the regulation that you suggest.

It is hard to imagine this ever passing given how popular TikTok is in the US. Certainly strong privacy regulations are more popular among the people than banning apps.

I think the fact that so many people use TikTok shows how little the average voter cares about privacy.

Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok

#180

Post by cma »

standardUser wrote: post #143
philjohn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US Tech firms products are largely banned in China, closing off a market of 1bn+ - why should Chinese firms have unfettered access to the US?

Keeping our markets open is the American way and it's how the US became the preeminent trading nation and the cornerstone and chief architect of the global economic system. The US always pushes hard for other nations to open their markets as well (for better or worse), but it also leads by example.

A different take: https://www.amazon.com/Kicking-Away-Ladder-Development-Persp...
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