this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12876226

The measure that sailed unanimously through the House Energy and Commerce Committee would prohibit TikTok from US app stores unless the social media platform — used by roughly 170 million Americans — is quickly spun off from its China-linked parent company, ByteDance.

US officials have cited the widespread commercial availability of US citizens’ data as another source of national security risk. The US government and other domestic law enforcement agencies are also known to have purchased US citizens’ data from commercial data brokers.

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[–] [email protected] 136 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Let's ban one app instead of making laws that govern personal data for everyone.

[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not to mention this does nothing. ByteDance could easily just stand up a shell company with a puppet in another country and have it become the owner. Our lawmakers and regulators are fucking morons.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

They aren't. They're just well paid. Meta and Alphabet don't want competition.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago

North American politics don't work like that. We all know there are gigantics gaps in the reasoning behind everything. Domestic companies do the same damn thing, but a part of that money has already gone into someone's pocket, because lobbying is a huge part of the decision making process

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

It's only bad if other countries are doing it.

[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

our minimum wage is $7.25, no universal health care, the cops are militarized and keeping citizens in their proper places, food/ housing costs are more than our pay, transportation costs have skyrocketed, the postal service needs attention, we have fifty states not working together

but we showed that China TikTok what for BY GOD! they ain't gonna spy on us

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am still semi convinced that the ban is really because there are a lot of tiktokers devoted to exposing trades and corruption of congress critters in near real time. Tiktok has a lot of flaws, but it's great for finding breaking news.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm there as well, but on a broader scale: I think they're wanting to ban it because they don't have a hotline to Xi so they can get shut shit down. Basically want it banned for doing the same things Google does, but the problem is it's not run by their own Musk-on-a-Leash

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Pretty sure it’s the other way around, musk and zuck have congress on a leash. Especially musk since he has skynet and tesla and space x

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

All companies that are heavily involved with government contracts and subsidies. At least a Mexican standoff situation. There goes the George Carlin quote about clubs and who's in them

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (16 children)

Fuck your whatsboutism. This is good news; tiktok is a propaganda machine.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The cyber security professional inside of me wants to agree with you. The Liberal in me doesn't want to give the government the authority to ban speech and what citizens are allowed to watch.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It’s proven propaganda. And a proven method of spying/gathering info.

I’m fine with the government removing it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (23 children)

So you’re going to shut down YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc as well right? Considering they all do the same thing and FB even interfered in an election?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Same. Just make it so Tiktok cannot advertise to American users or monetize American views. Start with that and wait for another non-ccp app to take that market.

Edit: Curious why every seems to disagree.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

are we going to ban youtube as well? which has more than tiktok? or lemmy for that matter? or any other forms of social media?

people who fear monger tiktok make me worry that they fail to see the bigger picture.

tiktok isn't the problem. the fact that propaganda is monetized is the problem. and banning tiktok will fix nothing whatsoever.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (10 children)

Propaganda is a major problem no matter what.

I mentioned in another comment that Tiktok is a massively direct pipeline to the minds of younger people by the CCP. Studies have demonstrated that the Chinese only version of Tiktok (Douyin) promotes positive content to users whereas Tiktok promotes highly negative content. To the point that a study concluded it was affecting the mental health of younger people.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Lemmy is also a propaganda machine, let's ban this platform too then.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So you're going to shut down YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc as well right? Considering they all do the same thing and FB even interfered in an election?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I would 100% be for shutting those down. Doing so would probably lead us into the next Renaissance.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

the legislation that needs to get passed, cannot, unless and until the house majority swings about 20 points the other way and the sliver of a majority in the senate is boosted by at least another 10.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Those are the issues they dont want us collectively talking about, sharing our lived experiences and how they dont line up with the bullshit our government is gaslighting us with

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (6 children)

This may sound like a rhetorical question but I promise it's sincere.

Why would I be more concerned about China having my data than when the US has the potential to collect that same data AND MUCH MORE through surveillance that we know they do? My own government has a much higher potential to do me harm than one on the other side of the world.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (10 children)

Saw another post that had many great points. What if TikTok leaned into propaganda, topics like reunification with Taiwan? I promise that will effect us, big time.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

What if China bought targeted ads on Meta?

That's never affected our country at all...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Good point, let's censor political speech.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Because China has interests that are in opposition to US interests, and they can sway US opinion any way they want by covertly manipulating the feed. They absolutely can do significant harm with this, including but not limited to selecting politicians, inciting chaos and political unrest, and even economic destabilization. I'm not sure that the US government actually has a much higher potential to do you harm than a foreign enemy of the US with a weapon like social media as you stated. You could make a strong argument that the political shitshow we are currently in is partially due to foreign interference through social media, and that is before they owned the actual platforms. The US government is not incentivized to destabilize itself at least.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

As an individual I’d rather be giving my data to China who probably have no interest in me personally, rather than a Five Eyes country who want my data to spy on me, and have more interest in persecuting me, stopping me at borders, etc.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

This is a misleading headline. It mandates that Tiktok be sold if it's to continue operating in the US.

Which honestly I support. It'll probably just be sold. Even if it's not, the CCP should not have a direct pipeline to feed US citizens whatever they want (even if they're allegedly "not using it for that").

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

Congress’ priorities are fucked.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Never forget back during height of pandemic Zoom was actually caught routing all data through China. Said oops mistake and giggled. Hey look Tik Tok is evil and connected to China...but how much more evil then Facebook?...uhh CHINA!!

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

I, for one, only want domestic adversaries abusing my personal information. Actual rocks and fence posts are smarter than this.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Tiktok isn't about advertising. It's CCP propaganda. Studies have been done that demonstrate that the Chinese only version Douyin shows more positive content to its users and Tiktok shows far more negative content that has a measurable effect on the mental health of younger people.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

To me that sounds an awful lot like TikTok being closer to good old American media than some Chinese psyop.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

That's uh... The NYPost article you're flogging. Which is brave considering NYPost is a rag.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Tiktok has been the only massively popular social media app that hasn't censored pro-Palestinian content. I used to be against tiktok for it's ties to China, but I've been convinced it's important to maintain freedom of speech.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

I don't use TikTok but wasn't it heavily criticized for censoring pro-Hong Kong content?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So you’re fine with yours and everyone else’s info being sent to china because they allow the type of speak that you like?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

So the choice is the American government having my data, which is fully committed to genocide, or the Chinese government which is speaking out against this genocide?

Right now, China is the lesser evil.

Take a page from capitalism, having competition is good for us consumers.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Not sure the CCP has a moral high ground on this issue.

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

Okay… lol! we’re done here. I’m going to block your nonsense from my feed.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (6 children)

The "American" social media companies and data aggregators have repeatedly been caught selling your information to the CCP. The only difference is tiktok isn't selling it to them.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

If the same videos TikTok had were instead on YouTube shorts, would all you people be happy? What about if Meta had it? It's pure nationalism and old people being scared of short form woke-ness.

I believe every social media has a misinformation problem, but I'm not just pinning it on TikTok.

Heck, our fear is the same reason we don't have cheaper EVs. We say 'the CCP.. ' and poof less competition and shitter availability for Americans.

I think it's ridiculous. I could care less if the CCP knows what type of short form videos I like. I'm sure our government has the same type of data. Obviously users could care less too. Leave choice to the people: hence freedom.

I believe in freedom of speech. Trying to take this (stupid) app away is a violation of it. I don't care about who owns it or gets data from it.

And no: I don't regularly use TikTok.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Congress is after TikTok because it's impacting corporate profits like the boycotts of Starbucks and McD has done. A place where we can collectively communicate with each other outside of the approved echo chambers. They can't control how we act and think without being able to control the algorithm

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