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TikTok goes dark in the US

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Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#681

Post by tlogan »

daemoens wrote: post #231

The app was shutdown a couple of hours ago in the US and this was the message all TikTok users saw when they opened the app.[1] The same guy who pushed for a ban massively last year, is going to save the app despite the security concerns he and most of our government said they had. If only we knew what happened in that classified briefing that made them vote together across party lines. [1] https://a57.foxnews.com/st…

I’m not sure if this message from the team is a smart move. ByteDance’s decision seems quite strange—it actually strengthens the arguments of those supporting the ban. Critics can now point to this and say, “Look, this proves our concerns.”

While Trump has hinted at possible delay of ban, he has also made many statements that are unlikely to materialize. This is Trump for god sake - we all now what we are getting here.

In my opinion, he won’t delay the ban immediately. He’ll likely wait a few days to gauge ByteDance’s reaction. If the owners aren’t overly concerned about losing access to the U.S. market—given its strategic value beyond just financial aspects—then the ban might not be postponed.

Also, keep in mind that both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg wield significant influence over how this situation unfolds. Additionally, platforms like Truth Social play a role in the broader landscape.

Moreover, there are classified briefings, intelligence reports, and strategic simulations—such as how TikTok’s algorithm could potentially be weaponized in the event of geopolitical conflict—that we simply don’t have access to.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#682

Post by phatfish »

gdubs wrote: post #224

I think a lot of people on here never spent much time on TikTok and it shows. It wasn't just for young people and it wasn't all brain rot. There were vibrant communities, subcultures. Real issues were aired there. Real people connected. From the early days of Covid it provided a window into a broader world.

Maybe this is a chance for the broader population to understand they shouldn't get attached to a free online service that can be shutdown for many reasons outside their control.

If you are an "influencer" build a following on multiple platforms.

If you are a business owner engage in marketing on multiple platforms.

If you need a video to tell you how to bake cupcakes or clean a kettle, learn to use Google.

If you are bored, learn to read.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#683

Post by Workaccount2 »

The extreme irony here, is that what tiktok is being banned for -the ability to sway national opinion, is exactly what they are doing with that Trump ego stroking message.

If that message and it's implications are flying over your head, please look up.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#684

Post by HarHarVeryFunny »

cute_boi wrote: post #47

I hope trump will reverse this action. I don't want government to decide what I am allowed to watch.

Of course he will reverse it, but just as obviously he was the one who asked ByteDance to block it today...

Biden said (a day or two ago) he will leave enforcement of the ban up to Trump, and ByteDance have been fighting against the ban since it was ever suggested ... so why do you think ByteDance are now voluntarily shutting down access today?!!

It's really no mystery - Trump has already been talking to ByteDance and agreed to let them continue operations in return for favors to himself which have yet to be discovered. As part of this deal, Trump requested ByteDance to shut it down today, so that he can be the hero and have it reenabled tomorrow or soon after (according to how he wants the optics to play out - pretending to take some time to "make a deal", or an immediate "day 1 - look at how great trump is").

You people are being manipulated like sheep. Calm down, it'll be back very soon.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#685

Post by user3939382 »

Dylan1312 wrote: post #544
pseingatl wrote: post #522

[flagged]

Freedom, except from narcissistic conspiracy theorists spreading misinformation about serious illnesses (and their strange obsession with horse wormers) that results in your grandparents dying.

Weird that “horse wormer” is on the WHO list of essential medicine

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#686

Post by TrackerFF »

dns_snek wrote: post #537
jandrewrogers wrote: post #308

A point I think most people don’t understand is that the government interest in TikTok has little to do with exploiting user data per se, a lot of other companies do that. The issue is that TikTok is somewhat unique in being aggressively weaponized in currently very active “grey zone” conflicts. This has been an open secret in national security circles but the average person on the street has no idea what a grey zone…

Do you have any evidence supporting anything you claimed as a matter of fact? "grey zone conflicts", "aggressively weaponized", "national security circles" are just scary/serious sounding phrases that sound a lot more legitimate than I suspect they actually are. AOC published a video talking about how she (and some other representatives) believed that the arguments that were presented to them were just as vague, nons…

Well, you have the recent Romanian election.

Pro-Russian, right-wing candidate (Calin Georgescu) with zero funding becomes leading candidate overnight. Turns out there's coordinate campaigns to push him on social media channels, like TikTok, where tens of thousands of accounts were opened a couple of weeks prior to polls opening. All pushing Calin.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2v13nz202o

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#687

Post by warner25 »

bionade24 wrote: post #591
spacechild1 wrote: post #588

Today I learned that TikTok has been used by over half the US population! In Europe, usage numbers are significantly lower and it's still generally regarded as something for young people. In fact, I only know very few adults (in my country) who actively use TikTok. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/tiktok-us...

Any US resident that could write something about their insights how Tiktok became so popular with residents over 30? What are the typical usage reasons for more mature people that differ from the incentives for young people?

I have a single anecdote, not much insight, but I'm interested in advancing discussion around your question.

My wife, in her mid-30s, has friends who will share or send her links to TikTok videos. She says that she can't view them because she doesn't have an account, but she doesn't want to create an account because she "knows she has an addictive personality" [1] and has read about the power of TikTok. Anyway, I imagine that this is how it starts for a lot of people: not wanting to miss out on stuff sent by a friend, creating an account to check it out, and then rapidly getting sucked into the addictive user experience. And it keeps spreading the same way from there.

[1] She does, and I'm thankful that she recognizes this. She's already a heavy consumer of Facebook Reels, by the way.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#688

Post by Workaccount2 »

tlogan wrote: post #681
daemoens wrote: post #231

The app was shutdown a couple of hours ago in the US and this was the message all TikTok users saw when they opened the app.[1] The same guy who pushed for a ban massively last year, is going to save the app despite the security concerns he and most of our government said they had. If only we knew what happened in that classified briefing that made them vote together across party lines. [1] https://a57.foxnews.com/st…

I’m not sure if this message from the team is a smart move. ByteDance’s decision seems quite strange—it actually strengthens the arguments of those supporting the ban. Critics can now point to this and say, “Look, this proves our concerns.” While Trump has hinted at possible delay of ban, he has also made many statements that are unlikely to materialize. This is Trump for god sake - we all now what we are getting her…

They set trump up to be a hero. The dude has wet dreams about being beloved dear leader.

The question is if people are still going to use tiktok when Trump bites the CCP bait.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#689

Post by psiconaut »

neither_color wrote: post #658
psiconaut wrote: post #480

There's an interesting cognitive bias in the western media that tends to define freedom of the press (and freedom of expression) as exactly what is perceived as freedom in this side of the iron curtain. Libgen domains are "seized", and tiktok "goes dark", but of course other countries "censor" porn or news outlets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Press_Freedom_Index

As long as we're not discussing ways to circumvent the American firewall, since there isn't one, we can still say that one country tries but sometimes fails to live up to a free speech ideal perfectly -making exceptions for national security- and the other is blatant authoritarian.

Just a hypothesis: the fact that there's no need for an American firewall might be a consequence of the information controls being enacted at the level of platform moderation, or DNS resolution.

(I agree with you about authoritarianism in a political sense, but I'm trying to look at the informational "water" in which we're swimming in).

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