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U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

reuters.com

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Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#21

Post by paxys »

bredren wrote: post #17

It was clear to me how threatened Facebook was by TikTok when I brought it up with an employee in June. They kept mentioning infinite scroll, and that everyone was supposed to be thinking about how to incorporate that into product. After zuck discussed TikTok directly recently, I’m not surprised google and fb lobbyists would press for this investigation. One question I have, is the real-time interests of millions of…

16-24 yo (and even younger) American kids/youth being exposed to Chinese propoganda and censorship is most definitely a national security concern.

Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#22

Post by jasonjayr »

bredren wrote: post #17

It was clear to me how threatened Facebook was by TikTok when I brought it up with an employee in June. They kept mentioning infinite scroll, and that everyone was supposed to be thinking about how to incorporate that into product. After zuck discussed TikTok directly recently, I’m not surprised google and fb lobbyists would press for this investigation. One question I have, is the real-time interests of millions of…

>One question I have, is the real-time interests of millions of 16-24 yo Americans reported back to the Chinese government a national security concern?

Perhaps not, but the influence of a nebulous "algorithm" controlling what comes up next certainly can reinforce a message or way of life that line up with China's cultural norms

Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#24

Post by lotsofpulp »

situational87 wrote: post #2

After the US claimed that Huawei was a national security threat only to drop this claim completely when China started cooperating on trade talks I honestly don't know what to believe anymore.

> I honestly don't know what to believe anymore.

Business is business.

Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#25

Post by [deleted] »

oogali wrote: post #9
situational87 wrote: post #2

After the US claimed that Huawei was a national security threat only to drop this claim completely when China started cooperating on trade talks I honestly don't know what to believe anymore.

I'm not sure what you're referring to in reference to "drop this claim completely". FCC is actively pursuing removal of Huawei and ZTE equipment under a threat to national security. https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/28/fcc-rules-huawei-zte/

[deleted]

Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#26

Post by [deleted] »

inetknght wrote: post #4
situational87 wrote: post #2

After the US claimed that Huawei was a national security threat only to drop this claim completely when China started cooperating on trade talks I honestly don't know what to believe anymore.

China started cooperating on trade talks?

[deleted]

Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#27

Post by FussyZeus »

CydeWeys wrote: post #23

I'll never understand why (a) Vine was shut down, and (b) So many Americans are eager to rush out and use a Chinese social network. I suspect (b) can be explained primarily through ignorance.

The globe increasingly feels so connected as to make people not question where things like social networks reside. In the mind of average people, until they have a political axe to grind, the Nation is all but obsolete. The only time the idea has any sticking power is when people are concerned about jobs. Other than that, nobody seems to care all that much.

Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#29

Post by duxup »

nknealk wrote: post #19

I highly recommend folks listen to recent episodes of Ben Thompson’s exponent podcast where he discusses TikTok and its influence in the USA. He makes the point that US consumers become subject to Chinese censorship policies when using the platform while China outright bans or heavily restricts American companies from operating (eg google search, Facebook).

I wonder too if say you tried to advertise on TikTok but your company was not complying with Chinese censorship requests, or you employed an outspoken advocate, or you employed some folks who posted something about Uyghurs on social media elsewhere ... what would TikTok's response be?

Re: U.S. opens a national security review of TikTok’s acquisition of Musical.ly

#30

Post by nostromo »

I would support a wholesale ban on Chinese acquisitions of American companies until American companies are allowed to acquire Chinese companies (or otherwise operate in China).

These ridiculous double standards from China are not free trade, and we should stop pretending it is.

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