Live data from Hacker News

Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

theverge.com

531–540 of 1001 posts

Re: Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

#531
post #179

I see the feedback here is overwhelmingly negative. My biggest problem is that it’s too narrowly targeted. I have worked for several US businesses with global footprints and working with China (and some other countries) required whole or part ownership of the business by entities within that nation. So we partnered with businesses in China to set up and operate our infra, and had to manage everything through contract…

I think people are reticent to admit that unfettered globalism (especially in the internet which was meant to connect the world) is bad and has serious security implications. It should've been obvious retrospectively, but folks were lulled by a sense of post-soviet optimism.

Im concerned this represents a more general trend towards severing the small connections between countries formed on things like social networks, and that in doing so we’re opening ourselves up to a public that will be more supportive of useless war.

Re: Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

#534

Since we are already being controversial, can we simply ban or regulate all short videos -- similar to the duration cap the Chinese government put up for gaming for people less than 18? My wife has been doom scrolling for hours every day. At least get something good in return. Even if Tiktok decides to leave US, there are a whole lot of other short video apps that can fill in the blank.

This isn't about making anything "better for society", this is about nation state power games.

That's why there's been no movement on data privacy legislation in 15+ years: because it would hobble a heavily US-centric profitable industry (with the side benefit that the data can be mined by US law enforcement and intelligence - which is directly the problem the US government has with TikTok / China)

Re: Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

#535

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you want Tik Tok in the US, lower your middle finger. Reciprocity isn't the main reason. It's become a legitimate national security problem. We're no longer in the early 2000s where we could delude ourselves into thinking China wasn't a rival. They're clearly revisionist, with their aggressive approach to resolving border disputes and rhetoric about forceful reunification of Taiwan being on the table. They are b…

> It's become a legitimate national security problem. What is the nature of the risk? > You are all in for a rude awakening to wake you up from your hypnosis... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimenides_paradox

> What is the nature of the risk?

The risk is information warfare. It's difficult to know whether they've used it for that purpose yet, because there's a lack of transparency, which is actually part of the problem. But regardless, the risk is unacceptable, especially if the Taiwan or Philippines/Vietnam situations boil over. There's no historical precedent of a rival having such massive control over domestic consumption of information. The one thing we do know from the history of conflict is that all available tools will get used for that purpose (e.g. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C8197).

Re: Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

#537
post #22

Fun fact: according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_websites_blocked_in_ma... , tiktok.com has been blocked in mainland China since 2020.

Shouldn't the US prove it's better than China by its self-consistent actions with its espoused virtues of freedom of the press?

Yes, but at some point you have to know where to draw the line. That line should be national security.

If China is indeed receiving data from TikTok, the future isn't going to be fun, especially with AI tech heating up.

Truth is, when China benefits, the Han Chinese people benefit. Every other ethnicity? Uncertain.

When the US benefits, a variety of ethnicities benefit. The US is now diverse enough where it must work in the interest of a variety of ethnicities in order to operate effectively.

So unless you're Han Chinese, you're more likely to benefit when the US wins.

Re: Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

#538

The thing that ticks me off is that there hasn't been conclusive evidence that actually justifies this ban. I'd be perfectly happy if the CIA came out with documents of how the data goes to China, but all I've seen is evidence to the contrary (e.g. servers in US, headquarters in SG etc). If I'm wrong, I'd gladly look at some linked articles of course.

For me, it's pretty obvious that social media is being used to destabize and weaken Western democracies like the US and Britain.

I don't believe that the lurch to the Right we've seen--Brexit, Trump, etc.--are happening naturally.

Re: Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

#539
Look, I think this is potentially oversimplifying things, but imo this is just a reaction to the youth seeing pro-Palestinian positions on social media. The fervor around banning tik tok was reignited around the time that it started being more common to see such things on the app.

Re: Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest

#540

US lawmakers are deeply concerned that TikTok might exploit some of the data they collect on their users, ...yet they turn a blind eye to the fact that GM not only collected driving data on their users, apparently in some cases without consent, but they sold it to others, including auto insurers, who used the information to increase the insurance rates of those who were spied on.

Hey come on man it’s America. Pretending poor people dont exist is the name of the game.
Post reply on HN