this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 44 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I agree.

I don't use TikTok, I never have, I never will and I advice against anyone else doing so not only for privacy reasons but also the effect it has on mental health and attention span. I lose nothing if it gets banned - and I'm still against banning it. The only difference between TikTok and other social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is that TikTok is Chinese owned. Do they actively influence western politics by it? Absolutely. We'd be doing the exact same thing if our platforms weren't banned in China. If the US decides to ban it then that's a move from the Chinese playbook. Don't be like China.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If the US decides to ban it then that's a move from the Chinese playbook. Don't be like China.

It has a bit of the same vibe as the "tolerating intolerance" paradox.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

The only difference between TikTok and other social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is that TikTok is Chinese owned.

The law would also appy to Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I'll refer you a video by Ryan McBeth. He gives some great insight on why the US is considering a ban.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (2 children)

This feels like a soft landing for Infowars.

He advertised a no-name VPN, do you trust that product with your traffic? The he goes on to cite a movie as a source. And then another one...

Dude I can't even finish watching this.

I'm not saying he's wrong, he's just not credible. You can read citations from primary sources from politicians in actual news articles that are ... shockingly ... less hairbrained and more concise than this guy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

Private Internet Access is not a no-name VPN. What are you on about?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

He works in the cyber security field... But whatever... I did my part and tried to inform.. can't help ya if ya dense.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Can you provide a tldr of the video?

I learned a trick to send videos to AI to summarize but it can't do this video because there's no captions.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

The title of the video is pretty clear "TikTok is a Cyberweapon".

Reasonable people can disagree over wether or not that's actually true... but it's worth noting China has banned TikTok within their own country. Clearly they think it's harmful.

It's also worth noting that congress was acting on an intelligence report which has not been published. I've heard there are rumours they might declassify the report and release it. Personally I'm inclined to reserve judgement until we actually know what evidence they have but the fact China has banned it themselves is a huge red flag.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

China’s full of red flags these days

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It's the same thing, it's just called Douyin instead.

I didn't dig deep, but I got curious after seeing your comment: https://brandmentions.com/wiki/Is_TikTok_Banned_in_China

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

video by Ryan McBeth

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.