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TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

reuters.com

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Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#961

Post by wholinator2 »

theshrike79 wrote: post #906
bearjaws wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> TikTok has such a culture of authenticity and realness I must live in another universe because it all feels fake.

Just did a test, opened up TikTok 1) a guy telling me in my native language (not english) how to spot phishing scams 2) another guy doing a short video about how much you need to invest to retire in my native language 3) Donald's AG not answering simple questions directly 4) video about 2CV ice racing where people leisurely drive old Citroens 5) A skit by an Australian dude who has a wall full of Milwaukee tools Inst…

Tiktok is serving you better things because

1) more people post there 2) you've used it much more and given them huge amounts of data on who you are and what your like to watch, when.

I can assure you those tiktok things are not the top of everyone's feed, sounds personalized. But your list for reels, and the other one sounds like the basic things they show to new people to try to figure out what they like, possibly somewhat curated by some past swipes.

Each of these are just algorithms. They get better the more you use them because your use = your data and personality and you've just used tiktok enough that they know _exactly_ what you like and who you are. Give it time, the others will come along if people use them

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#962

Post by cellis »

staticman2 wrote: post #659
paxys wrote: post #222

Anyone remember when they were in school and adults tried to ban access to a popular website? I imagine this ban will go down exactly the same. Never underestimate a bored teenager's ability to bypass tech restrictions. Heck maybe this is what is needed to finally get a new generation out of the comforts of their tech walled garden and get their hands dirty.

The only reason social media is popular is Americans are too lazy to find stuff on the open web. They'd prefer the lazier option of the single web site deciding for them what to see and think about. There's zero chance most will put in effort to access TikTok.

Exactly. There was a blog post a couple years ago called “The Tyranny of the marginal user” that states this principle succinctly. If it’s anymore effort than a thumb swipe, you’re losing users in a hurry.

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#963

Post by gardenhedge »

aimanbenbaha wrote: post #941
madeofpalk wrote: post #932

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> TikTok has such a culture of authenticity and realness and Instagram is so phony and overly perfect They're very different, and I understand what you're getting at comparing it to the hyper-manufactured perfectly glossy Instagram culture, but I wouldn't call TikTok 'authentic'. Of course, Tiktok is large and there's many different subcultures there, but overall I think TikTok is heavily drenched in Irony. It's a st…

You said a lot of words that are a litmus test proving you almost never use TikTok nowadays. First of all this is not 2020 anymore, you're 5 years late if you think TikTok is still filled with "dances". "Paid influencers" mean nothing in TikTok since everyone has an equal voice and equal shot at virality, see you're still seeing it from the lens of Instagram here. The NPC live streaming is weird yeah but you cherry p…

> Equal shot at virality

What makes you think that? The process is not open and fully controlled by the company running the show

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#964

Post by noisy_boy »

randomopining wrote: post #693
gaoshan wrote: post #556

Banning individual apps in this manner is wrong, IMO. In a country where concepts like freedom of speech and restrictions on government censorship are not insignificant considerations (in theory, at a minimum) a decision like this is unfortunate. China bans apps... tons of apps... in order to maintain strict control over the content and identity of users. This strategy is not something the US should be mimicking. The…

So what if a conflict breaks out and the CCP essentially use TikTok as a pathway directly into the brains of millions of Americans. Let's say they tweak the algorithm with a button press to create confusion and public discord when we should be united to protect taiwan. That's a possible tool of disinformation.

Counterbalance to misinformation is, just, information. Strengthen the institutions that provide valuable and quality information and use them as counter. Why aren't PBS and such institutions funded to produce shorts that inform users and put those on Tiktok et all?

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#965

Post by 3minus1 »

Jean-Papoulos wrote: post #254
paxys wrote: post #222

Anyone remember when they were in school and adults tried to ban access to a popular website? I imagine this ban will go down exactly the same. Never underestimate a bored teenager's ability to bypass tech restrictions. Heck maybe this is what is needed to finally get a new generation out of the comforts of their tech walled garden and get their hands dirty.

Don't underestimate the human ability to "settle for less" if said less requires less effort from them. There's a reason people pay for Netflix despite pirating proposing a higher level of quality ; Netflix is just easier. They will settle for the "easy" solution, which will be any one of the TikTok clones already existing (YT shorts, reels, whatever).

> There's a reason people pay for Netflix despite pirating proposing a higher level of quality; Netflix is just easier

I'm slightly annoyed how this comment completely ignores the moral and ethical reasons someone might want to avoid making an illegal copy of something while denying it's creators any compensation. I need more coffee.

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#966

Post by ZiiS »

theferalrobot wrote: post #918
ZiiS wrote: post #917

From an engineering point of view it is VPN companies that need to be bracing for 1000x spikes.

This isn't a 'great firewall' solution. It just prevents google/apple from hosting it in their app stores. If tiktok wanted to they could still host it from outside the USA and let people access it via the web (or sideload the apk on android). Having said that tiktok has announced if the ban does occur they will shut down service on Sunday.

I strongly expect they will shut down service to USA IPs; why on earth would they block anyone else?

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#967

Post by Zak »

Nemo_bis wrote: post #905
Zak wrote: post #769

I'm surprised they're shutting down rather than trying to push the web version. The law does not require ISPs to block the website or forbid anyone from using it; only US-based mobile app stores are affected.

The Reuters article says > Users who have downloaded TikTok would theoretically still be able to use the app, except that the law also bars U.S. companies starting Sunday from providing services to enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of it. Are you sure that the website and the native mobile app use different CDNs, or a CDN which won't be affected by the ban?

I'm sure it's possible to serve the website entirely from outside the US. I suppose there's a chance it wouldn't be cost effective.

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#968

Post by root-user »

mileycyrusXOXO wrote: post #876
unit_circle wrote: post #684

This is very welcome as a parent in the USA. It is also sound legally, and was a long time coming. Nothing of great value is being lost and in a year users will have moved on to something else. There are two positive effects here: 1. A company that is meaningfully foreign is losing control of a mass media asset. 2. Children and young adults are losing access to a product that is not good for them. A country should no…

For years people have dogged on North Korea, Iran, China and Russia talking about how the government controls information by banning apps and by creating firewalls blocking access to parts of the internet. Now when the US introduces censorship people like you welcome it with open arms. Something of value is lost, our ability to access information freely

Think of it like Oreos:

- Text-based blogging platforms: regular Oreos

- Image-based blogging platforms: Double Stuff Oreos

- Short-form video blogging platforms: Mega Stuff Oreos

There are still plenty of high-quality and addictive ways to share information without Tik-tok.

Everyone will be better off without Mega Stuff Oreos, they were an abomination to begin with

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#969

Post by hxegon »

deepfriedrice wrote: post #878
hxegon wrote: post #817

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you, someone, anyone in this toxic wasteland of a thread please point out what propaganda you're talking about? Point to an actual thing that justifies banning something 140M Americans use daily and don't just expound upon your vague national security paranoia.

"Where are the examples" is a straw man. Imagine the ways a political enemy might exploit limitless access to the attention of 140M Americans. The calculus seems to be that a false negative will be much more catastrophic than a false positive.

I understand what you're saying but that argument I don't think should apply here. Having some kind of evidence to back up a drastic action like this is not something that should be argued for, it should be a given. I've asked at least 5 different times for people to point to anything material, and no one has come up with anything. I'm not saying there is no threat, I could be wrong and there could be a massive threat, but if there is one shouldn't we be able to point to something more than "it could happen" and being paranoid about it? I'm being asked to have faith in institutions/politicians that have a long, long, long proven track record of not having my best interests at heart and I can't accept that when they have clear conflicting interests / motives.

Re: TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday

#970

Post by root-user »

spprashant wrote: post #939
killerpopiller wrote: post #895

Earlier quoted context omitted.

its not about their official data collection. It is a safe assumption that TikTok app is used to spy on targeted users and their surroundings, just google it.

Ok but both Android and iOS have a good permission system where location and other data access can be highly controlled. Isn't it more prudent that the app be restricted by the OS to not have permissions it does not require? Surely the US can enforce something like that.

You don't need to directly tap that information from the phone if you have enough variety of video and an algorithm that will identify and converge on micro-genres of video based on watch time, likes, and shares.

Aside from that, Tik-Tok Shop is also a thing. So elements of the application exist where you volunteer data like location.

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