Stricter laws restricting data collection would actually solve the problem but that will hurt the American propaganda machine just as much. China will diffuse it's propaganda through our own social media like they clearly already do. They can literally buy the data from our own data brokers, it won't even stop them from being effective.
this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
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It's not simply about collecting data. That's only part of the problem.
Why do people keep repeating this like it's the only thing.
Tiktok controls the algorithm controlling which clips get shown. Combined with the data, this means they can propaganda individuals so hard it will make your head spin.
Yeah! Only Facebook can propagandize my sweet ass!
This is not an argument against banning TikTok. This is an argument for banning Facebook (and all other centralized social media) right along with it.
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this means they can propaganda individuals so hard it will make your head spin.
Until you have an open source algorithm then any organization controlling a social media site can push propaganda. Just like they do here in the US.
The reason that Tiktok is being banned has nothing to do with data. We know this because you can just buy data about Americans legally from data brokers. This isn't about Chinese propaganda either. The real reason is that Tiktok is not easily put on a leash by the federal government. The real reason is that Tiktok has a large amount of popular leftist and anti-establishment voices. The real reason is that the US wants to funnel people into the social media sites that jump when the government tells them to.
Not leftist; pro-China. There's some pretty clear indications that TikTok suppresses posts critical of China and China's interests--despite those topics generating high engagement--while not suppressing information, say, critical of the US. They're clearly acting as an agent of the Chinese gov't.
That's the thing about state media from China & Russia & Iran. Yes, they are censored in the sense they aren't going to be critical of their host country.
However they are also a means by which certain anti-establishment voices from the West are able to get a platform. For example RT will historically interview people like Chomsky. It's not because Chomsky ideologically aligns with Russia. It's because "enemy of my enemy is my friend". So just because something is censored in one direction, it does not mean everything else on the platform is false.
So if we go to TikTok, China is perfectly fine with certain leftist anti-establishment media whereas it would be algorithm'd away on the other major social media sites.
Again, it has nothing to do with TikTok being pro China. It has everything to do with the US government not being able to control what is on the platform for their own interests. TikTok does not have to answer to the US, and instead of us being OK with that because we're a free country- we're cracking down on dissent because we are becoming increasingly authoritarian.
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"It's to protect our citizens from China!"
"Are we going to have stronger data protection laws across all 50 states and the federal government to help protect our citizens?"
"That sounds like a terrorist wanting privacy to hide form Facebook and Google's data to the NSA!"
Yeah, Chinese leadership was complaining about the mass migration from Twitter to Bluesky because it rendered their bit accounts useless, so it's not like it's a secret or anything.
This has always been about how TikTok can't be bought out as a propaganda machine by American billionaires.
Dunno why the last bit was removed. Ruins the wordplay that would apply perfectly here.
Nothing of value will be lost.
Idk, I think all these governments having trade and tech wars is bad for our freedom. But on the other hand, TikTok is pure misinformation slop.
TikTok makes Facebook look like haute culture and maybe people don't need as much freedom as they think they do.
That’s not how freedom is defined in the constitution though. We are not in China or North Korea but are heading in that direction.
Really?
You think you have a constitutional right to use brainrot apps?
I don't think the government has the right to control what you do in your private time on your private device.
1st amendment is right to free press and right to free speech. Several amendments imply a right to privacy from the government, such as the 3rd 4th and 9th.
The government should not regulate how I make my speech. That's ridiculous to give them the right to remove how people are allowed to speak.
Good to know people are willing to give themselves more chains to a fascist Trump government if they don't like the UI of an app.
There are already government regulations on what you can do on your ‘private’ device and what you can do on your private time.
Cool, so why stop there! Just make it so they always have access to my phone! Why would I need the right to use anything I want?
The government now needs needs me to get court approval to speak my mind to Trump. Require paperwork just to develop an app.
Surely nothing bad will happen if we just let this pot of water rise with frogs advocating it to get hotter.
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maybe people don’t need as much freedom as they think they do.
The quiet part is a bit loud here my blue conservative friend.
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This article from 2024 gives a pretty good rundown as to why using this reasoning to ban Tiktok will set a very bad precedent:
If the govt cared about your data privacy, they would create data collection regulations that they could then use to ban tiktok if/when they violate them.
Tell that to the Leopards Eating My Face voters here advocating for censorship and government overreach.
Why is everything so glacially slow anymore. Fucking do something! I've been hearing about the demise of TiKTok for like three YEARS. Die already. Or don't, I'm just sick of hearing about how it "might close" any fucking day now.
The 19th is the legal deadline.
replace "data" with "ads/propaganda/right-wing content".
Sorry about the bad quality, i've resent this picture so many times now that there's barely any pixels left.
Meanwhile, FB and Google which are courting Trump, and Elon courting both Trump and Nazis, are perfectly fine.
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Best possible outcome.
The best possible outcome would have been a digital bill of rights that applies to all social media. Please step outside the Amazon box youre thinking out of.
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People really cheering this? I don't like TikTok because I don't much care for that style of short form video - but let's not act like it would be better under US tech giant control. Worse, I'd say.
Officials say Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok's U.S. patrons
Oooooh scaaaaary. I'd feel much safer having it under the control of a government who actually affects my life. 🙄
Red scare 2.0 bullshit
I am conditioned to be revolted by autoplay videos. Even here, when I opened this post on the mobile web version, a video autoplayed at the top and I immediately stopped it.
Facebook first.
Don't threaten us with a good time, TikTok!
Just remember this is was because of so much pro palestine posts on TikTok.
The push to close TikTok happened before the Palestinian genocide.
You're absolutely right. But the palestine issue pushed it over the edge. I forgot who exactly from the israeli camp but they said "we lost a whole generation"
Excellent! Please do. You would be doing the world a favor.
DO IT!
It's gonna happen on the 19th because otherwise TikTok could just pay Donald Trump to make it go away.
Is there anything stopping them from just renaming the company and rebranding it to avoid this? I could care less if it goes away or not, but I am curious how easily it could be to just rename yourself or if that's actually covered somehow in this. Even still, I feel like there will definitely be loopholes that they can do to skate around it?
All they need to do is literally sell the American branch to a US company - even one they set up themselves.
The reason that they won't do this is because a US founded company has to play by different rules than a Chinese company can.
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