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House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

nytimes.com

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Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#311

Post by ericmcer »

aprilthird2021 wrote: post #223
codekaze wrote: post #213

I think the primary argument for banning TikTok should be based on reciprocity rather than moral and/or security concerns. We can make similar arguments about the negative effects of Facebook, Instagram, and etc. even from the POVs of other countries, but the key issue here is that China heavily restricts foreign apps and services from operating in their market. If China is unwilling to allow US companies to compete…

>If China is unwilling to allow US companies to compete fairly in their digital ecosystem, why the hell should we continue to grant Chinese firms unrestricted access to our market? Because we are (used to be?) a country that believes in democracy and the will of our citizens. If people want to download a Chinese app and watch straight up Chinese news and propaganda (not even close to what TikTok actually is), they sh…

I agree with this in principal, but in practice it seems troubling to have every person (even beyond kids) hooked on a stream of info that is controlled by a foreign government who doesn't like us very much.

If your plan is that people should be strong enough to uninstall or smart enough to recognize subtle propaganda, that seems very likely to fail.

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#312

Post by bdw5204 »

It is concerning that this bill seemingly includes a very specific carve out for Yelp[0] which is not owned by China, Russia, Iran or North Korea as far as I'm aware. Sure seems like the bill probably does more than just crackdown on TikTok.

[0]: https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/17675409413787445...

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#313

Post by tharmas »

avgDev wrote: post #306

Almost half of Americans are using TikTok. If the Chinese govt. can spy on Americans than this is definitely a national security concern. I understand that American companies like FB and Google are doing it too but hopefully they are not selling the data to Chinese companies. After I typed that I feel FB and Google would sell data to highest bidder. Maybe it is time to focus on privacy and clearly understanding what…

[flagged]

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#314

Post by qpingo »

avgDev wrote: post #306

Almost half of Americans are using TikTok. If the Chinese govt. can spy on Americans than this is definitely a national security concern. I understand that American companies like FB and Google are doing it too but hopefully they are not selling the data to Chinese companies. After I typed that I feel FB and Google would sell data to highest bidder. Maybe it is time to focus on privacy and clearly understanding what…

[dead]

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#315

Post by tempsy »

falcolas wrote: post #295
contrarian1234 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any evidence it's been used for propaganda? I don't use TikTok a lot, but it seems very non-political (maybe it's my filter bubble). The real cesspool of hatred and madness is Facebook - but of course Congress doesn't care too much about that. As far as I remember from the previous elections the Russian bots were operating on US based platforms

Are folks using it to distribute propaganda? Yes. Is there evidence - any evidence whatsoever - that CCP or bytedance is using tiktok to push a particular flavor of propaganda? No. That said, TikTok's moderation is quite unfriendly to LGBTQ+ and Palestine creators (even though they find ways around it).

The 60 minutes episode last year (?) insinuated that the CCP's main goal is social disorder eg they heavily restrict the Chinese version for kids to be education oriented where the American version is basically all ages softcore porn and ragebait.

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#316

Post by JumpCrisscross »

simpletone wrote: post #298
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> looking like hypocrites This is the paradox of tolerance [1]. It’s a worn discussion and far from hypocritical. In any case, I’d rather be right than consistent. Particularly when it comes to the survival and wellbeing of our people and allies. More pointedly when the other side is a dictatorship. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

[flagged]

> What are your reddit usernames?

I thought I wasn’t American enough for your liking [1][2] but also worked for the government [3]. (Is it a foreign one? Out of curiosity, which?)

Now I work…on Reddit?

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39685747

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39692339

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39692709

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#317

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

avgDev wrote: post #306

Almost half of Americans are using TikTok. If the Chinese govt. can spy on Americans than this is definitely a national security concern. I understand that American companies like FB and Google are doing it too but hopefully they are not selling the data to Chinese companies. After I typed that I feel FB and Google would sell data to highest bidder. Maybe it is time to focus on privacy and clearly understanding what…

In the absence of legislation to the contrary, I'd be surprised if any corporation with any useful data wouldn't sell it to anyone willing to pay their price for it.

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#319

Post by slibhb »

This whole thing is embarrassing. Banning an app is something the CCP does. It's not supposed to be something the US government does.

That's leaving aside the feasibility. I suppose tiktok could be banned on Iphones easily enough but it's less clear how the web app or android apps could be banned.

Re: House passes bill to force TikTok sale from Chinese owner or ban the app

#320

Post by wannacboatmovie »

Spivak wrote: post #296
wannacboatmovie wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many mass shootings in recent memory were live streamed on Facebook and Instagram. Removing those posts after the fact is a useless gesture. The evil already happened. Meta was never punished. Selective enforcement of TOS is political and utter nonsense. If TikTok were guilty of what they are accused of (being a foreign intelligence and propaganda tool), why is Congressional action necessary? Why wouldn't have privat…

> Removing those posts after the fact is a useless gesture. The evil already happened. Meta was never punished. I mean this sincerely and in good faith, what else can you do? We don't have the PreCrime division. The accusation isn't that Twitter/Facebook don't ever host illegal or objectionable content but that they have a procedure for addressing and removing it. Parler just said no, we don't have and will never hav…

For that matter, the most perplexing one for me is President Biden is creating and posting campaign videos on TikTok (not in an official capacity as POTUS but as a candidate). If one truly felt the content of this bill was true, as he has endorsed signing it, why would he even use the app in the first place? Are Zoomer voters that inaccessible otherwise?
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