We can't ban gatcha games which are actually predatory towards children in the US, but sure, let's ban an app where people share 3 minute clips. Makes sense.
Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
181–190 of 445 posts
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is known for involvement in the policies of other nations and even organising coups etc. With documented access of the American government into the American tech giants, I don't have reason to believe that Instagram is any different than TikTok. What makes you think that CIA didn't infiltrate Meta or made a deal to manipulate political situation in its friends and foes? What makes you believe that they won't w…
Yes, and the CCP has banned Instagram and Facebook because they understand that those are ultimately tools for subtly shaping mass opinion, regardless of whether it's clear that they're used for that purpose. Why would the US not do the same with TikTok?
I don't think that's quite true. The CCP banned communication platforms it couldn't censor before there were algorithmic feeds.
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why ban TikTok by name and not by legislating away the specific bad things it does? I don't see anything in this legislation that would affect Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, both of which are using their own engagement-focused algorithm for recommending content. If being addicting is the reason we don't like TikTok, then why are we OK with it when a domestic company does it? Because Facebook lobbyists don't want…
This legislation does not ban TikTok by name. It: > [prohibits] all transactions from any social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern. (After a quick read of the bill, it sounds like it may also ban VK. Although, it is already sanctioned.)
Check page 4. This legislation provides a list of companies which are social media companies. TikTok, Bytedance and any company that may be owned by either of those are the companies listed.
What other social media companies from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela might they have explicitly listed as a social media company? There are probably some.. maybe Yandex has some social media? WeChat? Regardless, only TikTok/Bytedance are explicitly named as examples. Obviously they have it in for TikTok specifically.
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#184Why not? China doesn’t allow our social media. Why should we allow theirs? We can easily copy the best parts of the platform and let our companies take their users. Plus, social media can be used for mass political manipulation, and what justifies letting them hold that power over our population? It’s good for our companies, it’s good for our people, and it takes away a dangerous tool from a country that is more and…
Because we are a democracy with freedoms protected by the government. If we copy their tactics on digital democracy, where do we draw the line? Should we also start locking people in their houses if they have covid?
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
TikTok does exist in China. It is called Douyin. The reason that they have a separate service domestically is most likely not the addictiveness of it. From the introduction section of Wikipedia's article on TikTok: TikTok and Douyin have almost the same user interface but no access to each other's content. Their servers are each based in the market where the respective app is available.[11] The two products are simil…
This is not true. The recent 60 minutes story specifically says the type of content is completely different because it is heavily moderated in China which is the total opposite of what we see in the US or elsewhere outside of China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j0xzuh-6rY&ab_channel=60Min...
I'm consistently surprised that many people in the tech community treat China as some unknowable country that we only get a few snippets of insight in from our media.
If you work in tech, you most certainly have a few Chinese citizens as coworkers and colleagues. Talk to them about what life is like if you're curious, don't rely on "60 minutes".
TikTok in China may be moderated but only to keep anything controversial from the government perspective off. I've seen this myth floating that somehow tiktok in China is much more wholesome, which is ridiculous. As far as the ill effects of social media, TikTok is arguably worse in China as it's almost entirely people trying to sell things and make a quick buck, flooded with get rich quick schemes and scams.
All of the things mentioned in that 60 minutes video can be found in the US version of TikTok, there is plenty of educational content. The idea that everyone in China is watching scientific experiments on tiktok while its corrupting American youth is ridiculous.
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#186Why 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…
> Why not regulate how the data is used or stored, like the EU does, but ban?
That is also a good idea and the US can do that too. In the past, Facebook got a multi-billion dollar fine from the FTC for violating user privacy. The exact same should happen and apply to all social networks worth over $1BN and repeat violations should be in the billions of dollars; not in the millions that the EU is doing.
If that is enough for them to stop these privacy violating operations or even better, to make them leave like what the EU is doing, rather that than companies worse than Facebook to continue their repeated invasive privacy violations just like TikTok.
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
Ah, it's the old slippery-slope argument again. I'm fine with banning all apps from countries that require their app-makers to share data with the government. If that requires an international treaty to codify when a company must share data (e.g. only with a criminal warrant), then great, let's do that. China would refuse to sign that treaty? Even better.
You don't think the US government requires information sharing?
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#188If Elon can re-launch Vine in time, I could see this working out. US Government causes a mass TikTok exodus and everyone goes onto Vine.
Let him finish twitter before starting new affair :)
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is known for involvement in the policies of other nations and even organising coups etc. With documented access of the American government into the American tech giants, I don't have reason to believe that Instagram is any different than TikTok. What makes you think that CIA didn't infiltrate Meta or made a deal to manipulate political situation in its friends and foes? What makes you believe that they won't w…
Yes, and the CCP has banned Instagram and Facebook because they understand that those are ultimately tools for subtly shaping mass opinion, regardless of whether it's clear that they're used for that purpose. Why would the US not do the same with TikTok?
> Why would the US not do the same with TikTok?
Millions (?) of Americans have freely chosen to receive and interact with the app, wouldn't their freedom of speech allow them to enjoy the content they choose?
Re: Bipartisan Legislation to Ban TikTok
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
If that's true, then didn't the cold war of banning each other's apps start when China banned youtube, facebook, instagram, google, twitter, whatsapp, snapchat, amazon, messenger, and twitch, just to name a few?
Google and FB famously pulled out, if they didn't they would still be there. It's the US that is stopping google, etc from operating there, remember project dragonfly that the prevented from going into china? Amazon is doing decently there currently.
Multiple lies.
Google was banned after they decided to stop censoring searches.
Facebook was banned after they refused to provide the government the identities of protestors in Urumqi.
Google cancelled Dragonfly after outcry from their employees.