this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 97 points 7 months ago (8 children)

He's right, we should ban Apple too if we're getting rid of bullshit we shouldn't trust.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Of course he's right but that doesn't stop generational propaganda from wearing off that easy.

There is somehow always a boogeyman that's making US suffer, it's never the US itself because it's the "greatest country" in the world and everyone is jealous. It can't be anything else.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I'm not sure but I think I've heard he agrees with you EDIT: or not

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 7 months ago (2 children)

All profit social media should be held accountable for the content, and the accuracy of it. That’s what the money is for—moderation of disinformation and illegal content.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 7 months ago

moderation of disinformation and illegal content

Those are strange names for yachts

[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago

that would be fine if they decided to apply it to all of it, not just tiktok

[–] [email protected] 44 points 7 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 7 months ago (2 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.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 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 7 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 7 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 7 months ago

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

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 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 7 months ago* (last edited 7 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 7 months ago

China’s full of red flags these days

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Everybody talking about nonexistent bans, playing into TikTok's hands of shifting the narrative away from them being forced to sell.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

The end user won't be aware anything happened. If a ban kicks in then they will start to notice issues when the app updates don't occur.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (6 children)

Forcing them to sell means TikTok will continue to operate under new ownership, owners who are not an arm of the Chinese Military.

Banning them would mean TikTok will no longer operate.

The legislature in the works is a forced sale.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (3 children)

The idea that "it's ok cause we'd do the same" is ridiculous. There is no comparison: China is an authoritarian government and the parent company is practically an arm of the state. There are legitimate criticisms of American tech companies obviously, but they're ultimately subject to the market and democratic governments. We shouldn't be doing any business with authoritarians in the first place, much less inviting them to control a significant social media app in the guise of a legitimate business.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago

I mean acting like American tech companies aren't basically an arm of the American intelligence services is a bit ridiculous too. Just cause they also make money and have to compete in the "fair market" doesn't change that. If anything it makes it worse cause they'll sell their data to anyone, whether that be America or China. I'm not saying what TikTok does is good, I'm saying all these companies are bad and focusing on one like this because it's foreign is dumb.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

I agree. We do the same and it's not okay when we do it either. But you can recognise that the world (and the US at large,) needs better privacy laws and regulations regarding user data while also feeling that tik tok is invasive and so closely tied to the CCP that it is actually a dangerous attack vector that has its hooks in the American people. I honestly think the bill is BS. Sure, the CCP is a threat to US national security. And yes, they absolutely are using tik tok to that effect. I fully believe that. But I want user privacy laws. I want protections. I don't want this kind of invasive app (tik tok, meta, Amazon, google et al) tracking me. And I want the government to do something to allow me to take back control of my data.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (6 children)

America is an authoritarian government as well what's your point

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (4 children)

it would be hypocrisy if ccp's china were democratic, didn't practice party dictatorship or rule by law.

else it's right to ban an app that could sway public opinions,especially one that is a hostile towards america.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Uhh, it's not hypocrisy.

The US government demanded access to the US based social media companies to pull whatever sensitive information they wanted. They just don't want China to have the same access.

Also, TikTok has been caught abusing exploits to get additional information outside of the permissions granted by users. IIRC, TikTok was caught stealing the MAC address from phones a few years back.

It's odd the Steve Wozniak is pretending to be ignorant of the distinction. US government wants Intel, and doesn't want a rival nation to possess similar Intel. That's basic intelligence 101.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Woz, like me, believes that nobody should have that intel. Trusting nation-states is always a bad idea.

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