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

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

#941
post #602

I'm very late to this - how do you ban something on the internet? Can't they just keep operating and people will learn how to sideload the app or use a VPN to get it or whatever they need to do? Presumably it will mean some friction but couldn't the company just call the bluff?

Who do you think controls VPN? Do you still trust VPNs?

Unclear what your conspiracy is, it is a fact you can get around a government ban with a VPN. It just doesn't solve the problem at hand.

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

#943
post #547

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

TikTok isn’t a news organization. It’s an entertainment platform. I don’t understand the people coming out of the woodworks saying this is suppressing “freedom of the press” or speech. Set up your own domain, get a VPS, upload your trash to VPS. There ya go, no more “censorship”. Oh wait , you don’t want to do the work to set this up? Sounds like a personal problem.

> TikTok isn’t a news organization. It’s an entertainment platform.

I don't remember the First Amendment distinguishing between free speech that informs and that which entertains.

Most news on television is selected for its entertainment value. Does that give the government more power to regulate it?

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

#944

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now, let's have other countries doing the same to Meta, Google, Microsoft and the likes. They all collect the data and send them to a foreign country (USA). They also use their algorithms to manipulate public meaning and to censor opposite opinions. Oh, and a US company spaying foreign citizens in not only legal in the USA, but also required.

Frankly... other countries should probably consider this IF they have an adversarial relationship with the US. And they already do -- neither China nor Russia allow Meta services in their countries. Nor do they allow most of Google's services.

That means the data of US enemies is much safer than the data of US vassals^H allies.

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

#945

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now, let's have other countries doing the same to Meta, Google, Microsoft and the likes. They all collect the data and send them to a foreign country (USA). They also use their algorithms to manipulate public meaning and to censor opposite opinions. Oh, and a US company spaying foreign citizens in not only legal in the USA, but also required.

Frankly... other countries should probably consider this IF they have an adversarial relationship with the US. And they already do -- neither China nor Russia allow Meta services in their countries. Nor do they allow most of Google's services.

Does having the pipe that gets you cheap gas blown up by the US count as an adversarial relationship? /s

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

#946

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This whole thing is baffling to me. What are you talking about? What enemy? I would rather someone in China has my information than my own government. China has no power over me; my own government does. I don’t care if china knows whether I like cheesecake better than blueberry pie. They’re interested in monitoring their own citizens, im sure- for the same reasons our own government agencies and corporate behemoths m…

Commerce is not zero sum. When done right both parties gain something. But China’s ambitions directly counter those of the United States. They’re propping up Russia against Ukraine for example. Use of heavy state subsidies and lack of environmental controls mean they can flood the world with cheap solar destroying the incentives for local production. When all the world is dependent on China for something they then ho…

> They’re propping up Russia against Ukraine for example.

That's a funny argument, given that the same piece of legislation with the TikTok "ban" also includes a(nother) $60.8 billion package for Ukraine [1].

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/us/politics/senate-aid-pa...

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

#947
post #908

Can someone convince me that, as a Canadian, China poses a greater threat to me, my country, or global security, than the US does? Because I have a hard time buying into the "China's the big bad" narrative when America does everything they do.

Do you actually need reasons why a liberal society wouldn't want the largest source Americans receive news from to be run by a wildly illiberal society?

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

#948

The work "ban" is in scare quotes for a reason. The law doesn't ban TikTok. Rather, it bans TikTok from having Chinese owners. If the law stands, the end result will likely be that TikTok will be sold to US owners, rather than TikTok going away. It's surprising to me that this this pretty significant distinction has been glossed over both in media reporting and in general comments here on HN. To be clear, I'm not sup…

For what it's worth, "play money" betting site Manifold is currently at a 69% chance of sale versus 31% of shutting down. https://manifold.markets/mint/conditional-on-the-tiktok-ban-...

There's another market with more options where "ban will be rendered unenforceable by courts" is leading: https://manifold.markets/MichaelBlume/tiktok-endgame-which-w...

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

#949

if you've been to China, you'll know that they ban all western products: facebook, google, etc etc and replaced them with their own variants. If they want to run around free-range without any restriction with their own products then they should respond by loosening restrictions in their own country. This is an absolute no-brainer. If you want Tik Tok in the US, lower your middle finger. Am I missing something?

Yes, you are missing something. Because you're seeing tiktok as a product, not as a community of millions of people. There are tens of thousands of small family-owned businesses that are only able to survive because of Tiktok. For a lot of the younger crowd, Tiktok is part of social culture. Cutting out a part of someone's life like that is not a decision that should be taken lightly at all. Peace.

Then it's time for them to move on to a new platform.

The fact that people have become dependent is no good argument for keeping the platform around.

And, with that said, if TikTok disappears - a new platform fill its void, as well as other platforms absorbing users. If there's a demand, someone will supply.

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

#950
post #847

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should other countries do the same with US companies? US government regularly (ab)uses FISA to get data on foreign nationals: https://transparency.meta.com/reports/government-data-reques... > Parallel to this we need a federal national data privacy law that protects us but also cracks down on the huge industry of data brokers selling Americans’ data to anyone that has cash. And also dismantle the law where the US can…

It is called a fortified democracy. And absolute democracy like the Weimarer Republik is a dangerous thing. All modern democracies are fortified these days. And it is good that they are. And yes if the US is caught with the hand in the cookie jar the nation in question is not happy, but there is a difference: Spying is passive and not influencing the democratic process of the nation or disrupting it. The concern with…

> I find questionable. It is too blanketed. There are international criminals afoot after all. Red Letters do have their purpose as do international treaties for law enforcement to cooperate across borders in a bespoke manner in accordance with their and international laws.

There's a difference between "Hey, France, we would like this info on a known criminal" and "U.S.-based companies have to turn over all data on any person regardless of that data location or the nationality of the person in question".

That's basically the basis for both Schrems I and Schrems II.

Edit: See also CLOUD Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLOUD_Act

--- start quote ---

The CLOUD Act primarily amends the Stored Communications Act (SCA) of 1986 to allow federal law enforcement to compel U.S.-based technology companies via warrant or subpoena to provide requested data stored on servers regardless of whether the data are stored in the U.S. or on foreign soil

--- end quote ---

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