this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2024
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what did tiktok do to deserve being banned, and why is it okay for other companies to do that?
Feeding data to the CCP, helping them identify people who can be easily swayed into espionage. Say someone gets into a position of power. "Hey, remember when you were 12 and said this on tik Tok? Now we need you to be out bitch or we're leaking this."
Look at the things that have gone viral on Tik Tok, it's like their algorithm prioritizes things that are toxic to make American youth shittier. Kia boys comes to mind.
There is also the fact that China bans all American social media out of fear that we'd use it to manipulate their people. If they aren't allowing our businesses to compete fairly, why should we allow theirs? Also, they probably are projecting that fear because they are doing exactly that with TikTok.
The app has more permissions than most apps and is highly invasive. They sent a push notification to all their users based on Geo location saying who their rep was and giving their phone number saying to call them to stop this bill. That alone seems like a major abuse of power. They are using the data they have to try to sway the American politicians already.
you've failed to answer my second question, which I believe was the important one: why should this behavior be perfectly legal for everyone other than tiktok?
Yeah it's a good question, and I think the answer should be: it shouldn't. Instead of cracking down on one platform or another, they should be cracking down on the bad behaviors built into those platforms.
But alas, that would require us to elect politicians that understand an ounce of nuance
I agree with you, but I'm assuming malice because I don't think that stupidity adequately explains their behavior. I think that, to them, the problem isn't propaganda and espionage, it's Chinese propaganda and Chinese espionage where American propaganda and American espionage should be. That's why they're not making what tiktok does illegal, and that's why they're trying to force a sale rather than actually banning it.
Not a single thing you said has convinced me. And I am going to get on Tik Tok out of spite when this passes into law.
Sounds like a lose-lose scenario
Not really. It might have something I enjoy on it.
TikTok is very heavily influenced by the CCP and could be used to collect data from Americans (probably they already are). Not wanting your biggest geopolitical rival to harvest data from your citizens is pretty understandable.
Chinese government is a lot less a threat to me compared to the US. We are at most two elections cycles away from a Christian Nationalism state. China is over there, not my problem. I can avoid them if I want.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism