Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

“Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

thechinaproject.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 65 posts

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#21

Post by WastingMyTime89 »

meltyness wrote: post #9
bell-cot wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that's already been done a few times - but the CCP did not want a public spectacle, and the US Congress did.

6 hours of testimony that, at most, 2-3% of the country even glanced at is a spectacle in your eyes? This looks like splitting, or you're deliberately failing to understand how lawmaking works and the importance of making informed decisions at the federal level, in the long term. Congress constantly grills CEOs, the elite, and victims because it is understood that they reshape society, sometimes for the worse, not al…

The US idea of a committee hearing is pure spectacle. There is a reason it doesn’t really exist in any other country. Everything that was achieve here could have been achieve through usual channels of communication with companies and the private sector. It just wouldn’t look as good on TV.

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#23

Post by LinuxBender »

John23832 wrote: post #13

Wouldn’t that be a tacit admission of the closeness, or importance, of TikTok to China… something TikTok/Bytedance is explicit trying not to do? They’re trying to up play the distance.

China says they oppose the push to force a sale of TikTok. [1] I do not know what to read into that.

[1] - https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/tech/china-opposes-tiktok-sal...

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#24

Post by eutropia »

favaq wrote: post #15
deafpolygon wrote: post #6

What's wild is that, they don't even have TikTok in China.

Of course they do. It's got another name (抖音) but it's basically the same exact product.

it’s the same product but they only allow educational content and stuff that promotes Chinese hegemony.

They let the rest of the world have nyquil chicken.

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#25

Post by LinuxBender »

aa-jv wrote: post #14

I'm just waiting for someone to make an open-source TikTok analog that can just replace the functionality with a platform not controlled by a single party .. we still have that dream right, cryptonerds? Seems like the best solution to the problem.

There are quite a few open source platforms that could be modified to technically replace TikTok. Peertube could probably be forked or modified to fill that gap. I do not believe that is the obstacle. Running a massive site like that is incredibly expensive, requires a lot of employees, servers, bandwidth, geographic locations, moderators and more moderators. Then there would be the fun that comes with creating a competing site to TikTok, dealing with all its followers and anyone that has a vested interest in TikTok especially when the alternative gains any popularity.

The only open source case I can think of that has some success is Mastodon and that is because it's creators let people launch their own mini communities but that is a different social model all together, probably closer to self hosted forums with a different UX/UI. TikTok's success comes from the centralized discoverability and its algorithms. Mastodon on the other hand is a fenced garden. Almost anyone can walk through the garden gate but AFAIK there is not a centralized search function for full discoverability.

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#26

Post by roenxi »

One company or product isn't going to be that important in the long run.

What is more concerning here is if the US is being out-competed to the point where they have to take legislative action. If they make a habit of that, it means that they are making some deep mistakes in their regulatory structure. The Chinese managed to do something here that the EU, Africa and India didn't manage.

Traditionally (eg, vs the USSR) America went in with a strong corporate and social base that took the expectations off the Fine Minds in Government. If it comes down to US bureaucrats vs Chinese bureaucrats my money is on the Chinese, their government is more internally coherent. The US needs competitive corporations.

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#27

Post by Mizoguchi »

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said

I mean, we are talking about a regime that kidnaps world famous artists, olympic athletes and business tycoons and dissappear them for months if they ever dare to challenge or disobey the Chinese Communist Party in any way or form.

Just imagine if in the US the goverment kidnaps Serena Williams, Jennifer Lawrence or Tim Cook and puts them out for a long time and when they return they are so terrified to say anything that getting any information about their whereabouts is practically impossible.

This is how the CCP operates and controls enterprises and the general population.

The CEO of Bytedance knows this and knew it when he took the job.

So now coming to say under oath that Bytedance is not an agent of the CCP, when Chew himself is at the very top of the watch list of the regime is not only perjury but just plain ridiculous.

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#28

Post by Symbiote »

rat9988 wrote: post #18
John23832 wrote: post #13

Wouldn’t that be a tacit admission of the closeness, or importance, of TikTok to China… something TikTok/Bytedance is explicit trying not to do? They’re trying to up play the distance.

No. The official discourse is that tiktok ban comes from a security point of view, and not economic war. No one buys it though, at least not oversea.

Which overseas? Several European countries are seeing TikTok banned in government, large businesses etc.

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#29

Post by meltyness »

tfchgd wrote: post #20
meltyness wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

6 hours of testimony that, at most, 2-3% of the country even glanced at is a spectacle in your eyes? This looks like splitting, or you're deliberately failing to understand how lawmaking works and the importance of making informed decisions at the federal level, in the long term. Congress constantly grills CEOs, the elite, and victims because it is understood that they reshape society, sometimes for the worse, not al…

I think that’s very well put. It’s kind of funny thinking that if the commentator made an equally tithy (false or not) saying throwing shade on China in private on WeChat they’d be censured within a day or two.

I mean, civic engagement is certainly a cultural difference, and it's pretty stark I think.

I can remember being in high school, still in the age of minority, and feeling joy when one of the louder, dumber cooks finally kicked off.

I kind of suspect Beijing and the CCP of not being so colorful at the federal level, and rather just being a giant executive bureaucracy with principle, law, and regulation intermixed freely, minimal federation, which leaves them largely ignored by society and festering until they're in your face enforcing lock downs -- like an authoritarian military state.

I unfortunately don't read a lick of Mandarin, and I'm not sure where to get a more optimistic view about what goes on over there, but I'm curious.

Re: “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing

#30

Post by DoItToMe81 »

eutropia wrote: post #24
favaq wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course they do. It's got another name (抖音) but it's basically the same exact product.

it’s the same product but they only allow educational content and stuff that promotes Chinese hegemony. They let the rest of the world have nyquil chicken.

It's dance videos, memes and cat videos. And also billions more ads. The 'OMG ITS LE SMART PPL TIKTOK' is a falsehood created by sensationalism.
Post reply on HN