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TikTok goes dark in the US

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Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#691

Post by thisisnotauser »

scarab92 wrote: post #599
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…

> If only we knew what happened in that classified briefing Most likely, the rationale will be similar to Huawei and Kaspersky. Not based on actual historical misbehaviour, but rather the amount of power you’re allowing their respective governments to have over US citizens / infrastructure. There are very few “from first principals” thinkers in the world, especially amongst TikTok’s younger audience. Most people take…

I understand that people who don't work in intelligence can have a difficult time recognizing risk, and often don't really understand the war other countries don't work the way the US does with the rule of law, but these are very much not baseless allegations. These are not even historical misbehavior. These companies explicitly and intentionally support and perform intelligence actions on behalf of their countries' intelligence services. Facebook and Google absolutely do not.

Kaspersky has been very credibly linked to Russian intelligence:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspersky_and_the_Russian_gove...

And Huawei has been very credibly linked to Chinese intelligence:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Huawei

There is often an attempt to equate these behaviors with compliance with court-order subpoenas, but they are not the same.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#692

Post by Buttons840 »

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…

Yeah.

Those with security concerns about TikTok will be frustrated, because the app will continue to operate.

Those with free speech concerns about the ban are also frustrated, because the law to ban TikTok was upheld (but might be ignored).

To top it all off, we will see an especially blatant disregard for law enforcement from the executive branch.

This seems to be the likely path, everyone loses and our system of government looks like a joke.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#693

Post by idunnoman1222 »

American youth was too crirical of Israel and too supportive of Luigi Mangione. Youth needed to be punished and also pushed into american platforms where the algorithm can suppress certain type of content that the ruling class does not approve.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#694

Post by rayiner »

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…

Walked downstairs this morning to my 12 year old girl complaining about the Tik Tok ban and noting that she saw that message. She’s now asking me what Trump can do to save it. It’s going to be hilarious when Trump reverses the ban.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#695

Post by moviet »

(Perspective from an American)

Information is the gold of the 21st century. Whoever controls the flow of information has all the wealth and all the power. Therefore, data is the greatest currency in the world.

This outcome was never intended to happen, but ByteDance is taking a chance that the American government will relent. We’ll see in a few months who wins the stalemate.

TikTok has an immense amount of cultural power. The concentration of power scares me, no matter who holds it. But China ultimately having that power scares me more than an American company having it.

Again, this outcome was preventable, but ByteDance is hoping Americans let them continue with the status-quo. We didn’t and we shouldn’t.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#698

Post by throw0101a »

scarab92 wrote: post #599
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…

> If only we knew what happened in that classified briefing Most likely, the rationale will be similar to Huawei and Kaspersky. Not based on actual historical misbehaviour, but rather the amount of power you’re allowing their respective governments to have over US citizens / infrastructure. There are very few “from first principals” thinkers in the world, especially amongst TikTok’s younger audience. Most people take…

> If China controls the recommendation system that decides what content people consume, then they can influence the narrative of the country.

From Noah Smith:

> Second, the refusal to sell the app tells us that the Chinese government would rather see TikTok destroyed than see it fall into American hands. Notably, that same government put up little fuss back in 2020 when the U.S. forced a Chinese company to sell the gay dating app Grindr to an American company. Why shut down TikTok and leave untold billions of dollars on the table, instead of just selling the thing like Grindr was sold?

> One possibility is that it’s an attempt to make young Americans angry, in the hopes that they’ll demand that Trump and Congress repeal the 2024 law. But a simpler explanation is that Chinese leaders simply think that TikTok, unlike other apps, is so important that they would rather destroy it than see it escape their control.

> Why? Some supporters of the divestiture bill argue that TikTok will transfer Americans’ personal data to the Chinese government — something it has already admitted to doing in a few cases. Others are concerned with TikTok’s social harms. But the biggest concern is that by controlling the TikTok algorithm, the Chinese government might be able to propagandize America’s young people — and to silence Americans who say things it doesn’t like.

> In fact, there’s some pretty strong evidence that TikTok already does exactly this. Rutgers University’s Network Contagion Research Institute has produced a number of papers about TikTok’s manipulation of information to suit Chinese government desires. The standard methodology is to compare topics on TikTok to similar topics on Instagram and YouTube. The NCRI people find that content on the different platforms is broadly similar, except where China-related issues are concerned. […]

* https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/tiktok-is-just-the-beginning

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#699

Post by mardifoufs »

FilipeMaia wrote: post #394

The Communications Act of 1934 limits foreign ownership of many communication technologies such as TV. TikTok has easily more influence than most TV channels so it does not seem strange to limit its foreign ownership. If the purchase of US steel by a Japanese company threatens national security, surely the ownership of TikTok is also one.

So, I guess China had it right with its great firewall then, right? I mean you have to protect your national interest against foreign corporations. I didn't know Americans would agree with CCP policies like this.

Re: TikTok goes dark in the US

#700

Post by fny »

If China doesn’t permit our social media and search engine companies to operate in their country, why should we allow theirs in ours? Reciprocity in market access should be a baseline expectation.
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