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US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

reuters.com

621–630 of 769 posts

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#621
post #609

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know who specifically you mean by “local oligarchs and warlords”. Do I think TikTok has more power and influence in the US than the average Fortune 500 CEO? Without a doubt.

Why do you bring up "Fortune 500" CEO:s? They only administrate businesses, they don't own them, unlike oligarchs. When you read that quote, you can't think of anyone that would fit? You don't come to think of the Kochs, Clintons, Trumps, Musks, Obamas, Sacklers, Murdochs, Bidens and so on?

No, and even with those names listed out I don't really understand what category you're pointing at. Your list includes the sitting president and president-elect of the country, who do of course have quite a lot of power. Do I think that TikTok has more power than Rupert Murdoch? Probably not, Murdoch owns a wider variety of media even if he doesn't have any single dominant app. More power than Richard Sackler or Bill Clinton? Again, yes, without a doubt.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#622

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So… if China mistreats their citizens, reciprocity says we must mistreat ours? You don’t fight censorship with censorship. That doesn’t stand up to even the most cursory thought. You fight censorship with openness. As soon as you find yourself arguing that you have no choice but to engage in the same behaviors you claim to dislike, you have literally become the enemy.

China soft invades minds of Western people under disguise of “freedom of speech”.

The US has soft invaded Europe's minds for a hundred years too, under disguise of "entertainment" and "news". Doesn't make it right, but just to compare.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#623
post #567

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Littering is against the law despite murders going unsolved ~50% of the time. TikTok doesn't have to be the greatest threat of all time to be subject to regulation around its ownership or behavior. Other problems can be addressed too. It's not like the entire country can only do one thing at a time.

Why are you changing the subject?

They directly addressed your question.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#624
post #471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is the exact same question being asked around the global - how could you be sure that American made LLMs are not altered in a way to maximize US interests at the costs of everyone else's.

Or like, movies? > The agreement was seen as a way to "spread the American way of life" though a war-torn France (and Europe at large) > To further the cultural propagation effect of the Blum–Byrnes agreements, the informational Media Guaranty Program was established in 1948 as part of the Economic Cooperation Administration to "guarantee that the US government would convert certain foreign currencies into dollars at…

There's also the agreement where movie studies can use real war machines as props, provided they agree to make the US military forces appear heroic, noble and victorious.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#625
post #137
post #36

1) Excellent way to teach millions of people about sideloading overnight. This could be a big win for Android (where sideloading is easy) vs. iPhone were sideloading is impossible (? or only possible only with an annual dev license?) 2) Will this affect apps like CapCut and Lemon8 too?

Sounds like the “Year of Linux” fantasies 20-30 years ago. No, people won’t learn about side-loading much like they didn’t care to try out linux instead of windows. They will simply use a competitor app.

The better comparison would be people buying gaming PC when Apple declared war on NVidia and shunned PC gaming in general.

Did Windows and linux PC sales rise ? Well yes, to some decent extent:

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/2023-pc-games-revenu...

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#626
post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Censorship... zzzZZZzz They're banning app/news delivery app managed by enemy government It is not like they're blocking internet, wikipedia they're banning stupid, memes/brainrot app

Chinese Tiktok is forcibly wholesome (by Chinese standards). They do not believe in absolute freedom of speech. Now Americans have just conceded that they don't believe in it either. It's good that we're all on the same page now.

Chinese citizens cannot express political opinions contrary to the whims of the CCP.

Do not equate whatever perceived limits the US has with China's limits on free expression.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#627

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So… if China mistreats their citizens, reciprocity says we must mistreat ours? You don’t fight censorship with censorship. That doesn’t stand up to even the most cursory thought. You fight censorship with openness. As soon as you find yourself arguing that you have no choice but to engage in the same behaviors you claim to dislike, you have literally become the enemy.

Censorship... zzzZZZzz They're banning app/news delivery app managed by enemy government It is not like they're blocking internet, wikipedia they're banning stupid, memes/brainrot app

If that were the reason for this legislation, Meta (Instagram Reels) and Google (Youtube Shorts) should be very concerned. It’s the same content.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#628

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"any speech being made on TikTok can instead be made on other platforms" Tiktok is not banning certain topics, as other platforms do The elephant in the room, is that content on Tiktok is served algorithmicaly, so if majority of population prefer to watch brainwash content, it's due to their choice, not algorithm's

> Tiktok is not banning certain topics, as other platforms do Oh but they do, or at the very least carefully steer what you see by demoting certain subjects; don't forget that only in 2020 their internal moderator policies were leaked, telling them to suppress posts by ugly, poor and disabled people [0], or suppress streams that "harmed national order" or "defamed civil servants". Sure, this was the Chinese branch of…

The specific topic in question is Gaza. TikTok has been accused of spreading pro-Hamas content and leading the young population to support Hamas, whereas YouTube and Facebook ban it on sight.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#629
post #36

1) Excellent way to teach millions of people about sideloading overnight. This could be a big win for Android (where sideloading is easy) vs. iPhone were sideloading is impossible (? or only possible only with an annual dev license?) 2) Will this affect apps like CapCut and Lemon8 too?

TikTok could just release a web app

Hot take:

TikToks appeal is that it's digital heroin. People aren't going there because it's genuinely amazing stuff. People are going there because it's a dopamine hit. When you make it harder to view like having a web app that you have to refresh or click or have less smooth touch interactions, it'll get less engagement.

Edit: it will be more difficult to track user behavior and location with a web app.

Re: US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from stores Jan. 19

#630

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Our political systems The rift has nothing to do with the political system (e.g. the US is freely and openly allied with Saudi Arabia despite radically different political systems), and everything to do with the competition for power and influence in the world. SA is not a real contender there, China is. From here the rift and inevitable conflict. > If you are looking for some specific justification for a ban, you'…

> power and influence good observation but it's probably both. The EU is a significant center of power and influence but so far the US hasn't started banning bidets.

The EU is neither willing nor capable of challenging US supremacy economically or politically any time soon (not even mentioning the military). And as it stands with the current war in Ukraine the EU was further shot in the foot. Today the EU is a good ally to further bolster US' claim for supremacy.

China on the other hand has all but openly challenged the US for that title. On the surface at least they are skyrocketing in every area (won't go into how or why). They had the same "incompatible" political system for decades but they stood as manufacturing partner for many of those decades until Western leaders noticed a trend with a dangerous slope. And as it sank in that inaction means ceding the top spot, here is some action. CIA trying to overturn a regime is a tall order with China so the more handy ways were economic: tariffs and bans.

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