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TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

reuters.com

541–550 of 723 posts

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#541
post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most successful global consumer-facing company in world history sells sugar water.

If you mean Coca Cola, you're wrong.

why? coke is easily the most recognized brand on the planet.

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#542
post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TikTok is not a national security problem, no more than Whatsapp or Telegram or Skype is a national security problem. The last time I asked folks here to explain to me why they think its a national security problem, I got a list of arguments that were just a little bit less plausible then those for the existence of Santa Claus. Just because Trump says something (while providing no proof) does not make it true.

A straight forward argument that comes to my mind is TikTok being used in the manner Cambridge Analytica used Facebook. Except in this case, it is being done by a State sponsored entity with vast resources (monetarily and people-wise). Further, instead of it being used to help a candidate become elected, it's purpose would be to influence foreign opinions of China/the PRC. That doesn't sound implausible to me.

If foreign speech is a threat to a free country's national security, then I think that the free speech experiment has ran its course, and its time to pack it up. /snark

Just imagine what would happen if the foreigners say the wrong things at us. How is our freedom so brittle that it cannot handle speech?

This whole avenue of argument sounds an awful lot like one that authoritarian regimes use to block Google, Facebook, the NYT, etc.

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#543

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America's morality has always come down to "might makes right" and it's quite clear that many people believe that's a perfectly satisfactory state of affairs.

Why fund your own demise? You can’t take the moral high ground with an immoral enemy. This isn’t a movie.

[deleted]

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#544

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you’re conflating a “free market” with a “perfectly competitive market”. By and large, the US is a free market with your obvious government regulations. However, it’s not a perfectly competitive market because of the things you mentioned. Because a true “perfectly competitive market” is almost impossible to achieve, no nation’s economy is, but some are closer to it than others. Perfect competition benefits th…

100% agreed. I"m using however somehow I feel most of HN doesn't see this. The issue is between how the term "free market" is defined and how it's used. My usage above is how it's commonly used - as meaning a "competitive market" - which as you mention is completely wrong. A truly competitive market benefits consumers and society overall. A completely free market on the other hand benefits rent seeking and is a drain…

well said

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#545
post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TikTok is not a national security problem, no more than Whatsapp or Telegram or Skype is a national security problem. The last time I asked folks here to explain to me why they think its a national security problem, I got a list of arguments that were just a little bit less plausible then those for the existence of Santa Claus. Just because Trump says something (while providing no proof) does not make it true.

Grindr was a national security problem . The precedent is there.

That's a problem for people with security clearance. For the other 99% of Americans, how is it a national security issue?

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is “fair”? We believe in a free market economy. There is no way to “game” it because by definition a free market has to be free and what arises from it is what is supposed to be. China has a planned economy. They pick and choose what happens economically and they have a heavy hand in manipulating it. It honestly sounds like we want to have our cake and eat it too. The free market is the best way to develop a hea…

China “planned” its tech industry? You gonna be kidding me

China has its fingers deep in the pie of every tech company there, especially the ones with even minimal foreign ownership. It might not be planned in the quaint sense of the old Communist 5 year plans, but it’s certainly a modern iteration of the concept.

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#547

As someone from the third world this leaves a very bad feeling if it happens. I do expect it runs into legal hurdles before that. Neither Apple nor Google have found TikTok problematic enough to delist them from their app stores. Neither is there charges that TikTok may have broken US laws. Banning something which hasn't broken US laws, on arbitrary grounds shouldn't be possible. The President shouldn't have authorit…

Stop with this CCP propaganda.

China blocked Facebook and Google because those apps gave access to significant information that the government couldn't censor outright.

The scales were never even, so now this is just a much needed correction.

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#548

As someone from the third world this leaves a very bad feeling if it happens. I do expect it runs into legal hurdles before that. Neither Apple nor Google have found TikTok problematic enough to delist them from their app stores. Neither is there charges that TikTok may have broken US laws. Banning something which hasn't broken US laws, on arbitrary grounds shouldn't be possible. The President shouldn't have authorit…

[flagged]

Wow...CCP supporters out in full-force right now downvoting anything critical of China.

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#549
post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TikTok has essentially three categories of users 1. Users that watch, but don’t post anything 2. Regular people that just post random things for fun. These people are essentially using it as instagram for video 3. People making relatively high quality content involving specific subject matter (vlogs, food, technology, sports, etc...). Essentially recreating YouTube channels on TikTok. The service has historically bee…

Usually they are forced to youtube for the advertising dollars. On twitter or instagram influencers can make a sizable amounts with sponsored posts. Does tiktok have an ad program for content creators? Are tiktok users becoming paid influencers? Do people post sponsored tiktok videos?

Yeah once they figure out the monetization part, the ecosystem would be complete. They've been working on that. I don't think it is as efficient yet. But you can also look at Chinese version of tiktok, where they have already a full ecosystem and lots of people making lots of money off the platform.

Re: TikTok’s Chinese owner offers to forego stake to clinch U.S. deal – sources

#550
post #540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Don't have to, but unless the policy is seperate the people and the party and win over the people. I am not sure why that would be the US's problem. I have no doubt the that CCP will be able to control the media narrative within their own country. I just don't care. That was always going to be the case.

Isn't this whole new cold war all about the US trying to contain China? the failed "prosperity then freedom" China policy for the past thirty years all about? It's perfectly normal to not care, but "Policy makers" care.

> Isn't this whole new cold war all about the US trying to contain China? the failed "prosperity then freedom" China policy for the past thirty years all about?

It has become clear that China is not on the road towards freedom. That theory failed.

And it is because that failed, that we need to take a new approach to things. The way to get China to change, is to pressure them to change.

And we can pressure them, with economic pressure, by engaging in some of the same tactics that they use against us.

If they are going to defect, eventually we have to respond in kind, in order to not put ourselves at a disadvantage.

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