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Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

cnbc.com

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Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#81

Post by fiblye »

croutonwhiskers wrote: post #45

Wasn't microsoft trying to acquire tiktok? Why not just let that happen rather than try to do something so extreme? I'm not partial to tiktok at all but this is way to much of a big government move than I feel comfortable with. Isn't this a violation of our first amendment rights?

Honestly, Microsoft could purchase TikTok in its entirety and I still wouldn’t believe that it’s anything more than a front for the Chinese government. MS has a reputation for being exceedingly cozy with governments.

No matter how they try to spin off or rebrand this product or abandon ties to the old parent company, I’d never trust it as much as something entirely new.

If the NSA tried putting out a social media network, nobody would trust it. If they sold it off completely and had zero official NSA employees, nobody would trust it. And rightfully so. TikTok feels the same to me.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#82

Post by [deleted] »

busymom0 wrote: post #63
surround wrote: post #37

I’m torn. On one hand, we’ve seen how TikTok has been used by the CCP to extend the reach of its censorship, oppression, and surveillance. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the government should be deciding what software we’re allowed to have.

I think this is a good measure to even the playing field. Thousands of companies are blocked in China. So why not do the same?

[deleted]

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#85

Post by ptx »

kortilla wrote: post #74
busymom0 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think this will just be the app itself. It will be network traffic based.

I don’t think there is infrastructure in place in the US to prevent access to an IP space.

Perhaps Huawei might be willing to provide it.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#86

Post by tchaffee »

busymom0 wrote: post #63
surround wrote: post #37

I’m torn. On one hand, we’ve seen how TikTok has been used by the CCP to extend the reach of its censorship, oppression, and surveillance. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the government should be deciding what software we’re allowed to have.

I think this is a good measure to even the playing field. Thousands of companies are blocked in China. So why not do the same?

Because we live in a relatively free country where the government doesn't choose what software we buy or use.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#87

Post by quotemstr »

dependenttypes wrote: post #65
quotemstr wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the state can order tech companies to blacklist apps, the state can order tech companies to add certain sites to their "malicious browsing" filters or order ISPs to IP-block arbitrary hosts. The state simply has no legal authority under which it may ban apps. If the big tech companies roll over for this and say "yes, sir", they'll do anything. I'm a huge proponent of regulating big tech companies, but all regulati…

The state already blacklists certain programs. Pretty much anything that illegally contains copyrighted content or some other form of illegal numbers.

No, the state doesn't blacklist programs. Code is speech. Bernstein v. Department of Justice established that [1] in the 1990s. Sure, if you have an app, and you distribute copyrighted material as part of that app, yes, you can be prosecuted under copyright law and be forced (via injunction) to stop distributing that app. But the word "law" is essential: there is a specific rule, set out in advance, which applies to everyone, and for which there are clear penalties. I have seen nobody explain what law TikTok is supposedly breaking.

If TikTok is doing something bad, fine. Make a rule against the bad thing, then ban TikTok on the basis of breaking that rule. You can't just bypass the whole "make a rule" and "show that $X broke the rule" thing and go straight to "punish X". That's called passing a "bill of attainder", and it's such a terrible idea that the practice is specifically banned in the constitution. Now, maybe this situation isn't technically a bill of attainder, but it's the same damned principle at work, and it's still a bad idea.

[1] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/remembering-case-estab...

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#88

Post by grazhero99 »

akersten wrote: post #2

Under what authority? A dozen paragraphs in the article and not one questioning whether he can actually do this. What would such an executive action look like? An EO to Apple and Google to de-list the app from their stores? Why should they comply? What's he going to do when ByteDance uploads the .apk somewhere? Sick of media treating this man like a zoo exhibit instead of the advanced persistent threat to US democrac…

> advanced persistent threat to US democracy

I don't see what this has to do with our electoral system.

That seems like a rather narrow and emotionally charged stance to take on this issue in my opinion.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#89

Post by dh5 »

busymom0 wrote: post #63
surround wrote: post #37

I’m torn. On one hand, we’ve seen how TikTok has been used by the CCP to extend the reach of its censorship, oppression, and surveillance. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the government should be deciding what software we’re allowed to have.

I think this is a good measure to even the playing field. Thousands of companies are blocked in China. So why not do the same?

I'd be 100% against it if this were any app besides one created in China. With all the spyware and protectionist policies there I don't mind so much the ban of Tiktok.

Re: Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action

#90

Post by thinkloop »

> Trump’s comments come as it was reported Friday that Microsoft has held talks to buy the TikTok video-sharing mobile app from Chinese owner ByteDance.

He's ensuring msft can get them at a good price. Trump is very aware of the power of signaling whether it pans out or not.

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