Tiktok has some serious problems with censorship. It's been absolutely proven that Tiktok censors content that the Chinese government dislikes. Even if Tiktok/Bytedance insists that they aren't owned by the Chinese government, they are owned by Chinese entities, which subjects them to Chinese government censorship, and may require them to deny that censorship.
The study: https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/A-Tik-Tok-ing-Timebomb_12.21.23.pdf
Article about the study: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/business/tiktok-china.html
Antipaywall link to that article: https://archive.ph/MLATC
I don't disagree that Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter have their own set of things they censor. I don't disagree that Tiktok is being singled out by Congress. I don't disagree that there are big privacy problems with all of the above platforms.
This is interesting because I literally found out about the Hong Kong protests on TikTok and have seen a lot of content about the Uyghurs on there as well. Of course anecdotal evidence isn’t really evidence but it’s interesting nonetheless.
I'm not gonna suggest that it's right that US companies often evade government scrutiny and action, but I also don't think it's hypocritical for a country to be interested in protecting itself from other countries. That's just national interest. We need protections within the country too, but that's not the same conversation.
And tbh, the meme is pretty on point because a family may treat each other poorly often, but they are much less accepting of an outside party doing the same as it can be seen as a risk to the group at large.
people seem to glaze over the fact that China is at odds with the United States politically, the ban has little to do with protecting people's privacy and more to do with preventing another country from having such an influential tool ready at their fingertips.
Also I know it's the whole "you are not immune to propoganda" meme but look at the reactions to this bill online. If this isn't proof enough that ByteDance has the tools and ability to push an agenda through their app idk what is, and the U.S. has already had enough problems with foreign interference. If we cannot trust ByteDance not to retaliate against the U.S. when profits are on the line, they probably shouldn't be trusted with so much control on what our citizens are watching and hearing.
Not to mention how the local area average content algorithm is a known tool of those foreign policing units to keep Chinese nationals abroad in line even when they specifically avoid downloading anything the CCP could normally use to keep an eye on them.
People are getting mad that their right to participate in the extraterritorial oppression of Chinese folks is being infringed because it also involves them getting to watch videos of reddit drama stories set to shitty Minecraft parkour.
Bull. Being at odds with someone is about protection. We should want our information to be free from whatever they want it for. I don't like the bigger US companies doing it either. But that is usually for profit. Who knows what a foreign nation that hates us wants it for.
China is at odds with the United States politically
Most sane and freedom loving people are also at odds with United States politically.
I think the US government is upset that China has provided people with a way to communicate and organize that has actually been effective.
I find it hypocritical that America forces it's tech down other countries throats and demands open markets globally while wanting to now close off their market once they have a viable foreign competitor. I agree it's logically the right move but, I still find it hypocritical.
I think the most hypocritical part is obviously the guise of data privacy. But even regarding national security or foreign influence, I think there is some hypocrisy because we know that there are foreign actors on Facebook, for example, as well.
The foreign actors don't control Facebook. They only exploit it. This is a significant difference.
Back in my day we had an open internet. But "China bad" has gotten to the point where we're ok with the government deciding which countries are allowed to have apps in the US market. I definitely don't see any problems with establishing that kind of precedent.
If your worried about China influencing and/or spying on US citizens via a social media app, there are things the US could do short of a forced sale or outright ban (and not an actual ban btw, this is the government telling app stores what apps they're allowed to carry, another super cool precedent). Maybe a public education campaign, like DARE but for tik tok, maybe it's convincing influencers to switch platforms, maybe it's dumping some money into alternatives like the fediverse. Or you could just wait a year or two until TikTok loses popularity like every other social media platform ever.
Anyway, we need to stop pretending this argument is about anything like spying or Chinese mind control. For Republicans it's simply China bad. For Democrats it's about protecting meta and Google, donors, from TikTok kicking their ass in the free market.
It's dumb, short sighted, a horrible precedent, and people cheer it on at their own perril.
Europe should ban Facebook for national security reasons, and TikTok too.
Agreed.
Europe should be prepared to ban Facebook and currently ban tiktok. American companies aren't the same type of threat. Europe can reliably get them to follow their legislation.
When it comes to the intelligence aspect. America will share it's intelligence and intelligence capabilities with most of Europe. Even when it doesn't, it's intended outcomes are aligned with Europe.
America supports Europes defence and economy substantially. In both things they are generally aligned. China doesn't. It's hostile to Europe and the US. China frequently performs industrial sabotage and theft against Europe and the US.
Europe should be challenging Facebook more, but the problems with Facebook are the same issue US citizens face. Europe can trust that the American government and Facebook to follow it's laws in Europe. Regulations don't matter to tiktok, it exists as part of the state apparatus. It will only ever feign compliance.
You know what? Good. Fuck China. Fuck the CCP. Fuck TikTok. My country borders China and has active territorial disputes with it. When I last went on Facebook I saw people from my country reposting TikTok content from China. They actually fucking support China in all of its territorial disputes, they think that China is the greatest country in the world and they want it to have the nine dash line basically. Really? Supporting a totalian regime, a hostile foreign power? Really?
Yes, 100%.
There are way too many fucking tankies on this platform and they need to be reminded of this.
If I download that app I am not doing it because I endorse any of the policies of the Mainland Taiwan I am doing it I want to get content.
You're not wrong.
Man the fuck is up with the amount of pro-Chinese-Dictatorship memes?
Fuck the CCP, all my homies hate the CCP! Some other unethical asshole can buy TikTok and it'll still be an improvement.
Yes and fuck tankies. They're all over this platform.
What if I hate the CCP more than I hate social media companies, and I think all of them need to be taken down a peg but our government is too chicken shit to do that.
It's funny. Laugh. F the CCP
Eww, sanity!
Way more people than I would have expected in here - a social media site who's entire purpose is to be free from corporate ownership and control - upset this meme is too soft on China, instead of in agreement that legislators should be addressing the entire social media platform market (and china's platform with it)
It’s because they’re shipping all the user data back to China despite repeatedly promising they wouldn’t.
do you believe, for even a single moment, that all the US-based companies selling our data are not selling it in China?
Two wrongs don't make a right
To solve this problem, I'm thinking of just getting a dumb phone again, and maybe throwing out all of my other electronics. Actually, I'll have to just move to the middle of the woods somewhere with no electricity to get actual privacy.
Man this sucks. I wish we could all just mind our own business.
idk. i think you just don't need all the "smart" devices in your hut in the woods. electricity is fine. we had solar panels in dumb calculators and dumb watches for >20 years. plus the dumb stuff needs even less electricity and is easy to repair. you can have a dumb mixer, dumb fridge,, dumb washing machine, dumb dishwasher and a vacuum, just not a roomba that scans your home while it cleans.
The devil you know vs the devil you hey, wait, no I wasn’t calling China a d
I mean you are not wrong. One pest less is an absolute win im my books though.
Pretty sure this is just privacy washing. The real issue here is censorship.
For a second there I thought this was about Mike Johnson.
Heyoooooooo!
How to say you don’t understand without saying you don’t understand
You can't just make me spit out my wine with this incredible Simpsons meme hahaha jk I love it 🤣
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
honestly, i just don't really care, unless you want to try and argue first amendment, i think that's the only realistic outcome here.
This is the red herring that the CCP is throwing out all over social media for us. They want to conflate support for Palestine with TikTok use, and shift the narrative away from the problems with TikTok's doomerism-inducing algorithms of intentionally addictive and divisive content.
Except it's not just the CCP, there's a leaked audio of pro-Israel lobbyist and CEO of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, saying “We really have a TikTok problem” in the US.
And others stand to gain from the TikTok ban, like Meta and YouTube. So maybe the CCP is pushing a narrative, but there's more than one angle here
From famous CCP propaganda outlet, the Wall Street Journal:
Gallagher is well-liked by Democrats and his GOP colleagues and respected as an expert on the issue. His efforts appeared to stall in 2023, but were revived in part by the fallout from the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, according to people close to TikTok and people close to lawmakers. TikTok’s users quickly inundated the platform with videos about the attack and Israel’s war on Gaza. Some lawmakers said TikTok appeared to favor pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel content, and renewed calls to ban the app in the U.S.
Yeah definitely not a campaign that the ADL has been heavily pushing for lately to maintain control over their propaganda narratives.
Why do people deny this? I think it is maybe somewhat difficult to see through the smokescreen but the timing of all this is what makes it so obvious. I am not a tiktok user but I've seen the pro-palestine content that is so prevalent there and just the sheer volume of it. The US was more or less fine with China harvesting our data for years before this, but suddenly now we have to ban it in 6 months?? It is entirely about Israel and anti-Israeli government sentiment.
A braindead take. Why do you idiots need it explained over and over? You will make sure you don't get it.
