sdw2001

dewme said:

It will be interesting to see how this plays out if the US actually goes through with a ban. There are probably around 100 million TikTok users in the US alone. Any blanket edict that affects that number of users is going to be seen as wildly Authoritarian and overreaching. It’s along the same lines as the EU threatening to ban iPhones if Apple doesn’t comply with their edicts. I believe Apple sells around 100 million phones a year in the EU. 

These Authoritarian threats are being waved around by what are actually a very small number of individuals who feel emboldened by their positions of authority. But in most cases these people and groups are completely ignoring the preferences and choices held by hundreds of millions of people who would be impacted by the power plays being conducted by these small Authoritarian rule makers. 

Does anyone think that 100 million EU residents would simply let themselves be forced to purchase a POS Android phone if the iPhone was “banned” by a small group of Authoritarians, many of whom are elected? I don’t see that happening. But of course Apple isn’t going to test those waters and will succumb to the Authoritarians living out their best lives/fantasies as big bad power players. 

I don't agree that politicians pushing a ban are "authoritarian," nor do I agree with comparing them to the actual authoritarians in the EU who seek to mandate USB-C and possibly ban the iPhone.  

TikTok is a national security threat.  It is a serious threat to our youth.  You have a company with deep ties to the CCP.  The Western version of TikTok uses algorithms that push users towards sex, drugs, etc.  Meanwhile, the Chinese version algorithms push positive and productive content (organized dance, national pride, etc.).   User data is being collected in droves and obviously is accessed by the CCP.  The CCP is getting detailed user data on hundreds of millions of people.  Their goal is to eventually supplant the U.S. as the global superpower, with the intermediate goal of usurping us (and our alliances) in their sphere.   

Now, I'm not making the argument to ban it per se. However,  I certainly understand the argument to do so.  Obviously, a ban on a such a popular app would be major and virtually unprecedented step.  I don't know exactly how it would be implemented, either.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  I don know there is bipartisan support for it.  

lkrupp said:

macxpress said:

lkrupp said:

waveparticle said:

This is frivolous to the lowest level. TikTok is an entertaining tool. Government building is for working. Of course it is inappropriate to use TikTok. But making it a national security issue is a plot by China haters to silence democracy. 

Maybe the NSA, CIA, and the U.S. Military know something you don’t. But then you’re just a Chinese government operative spreading disinformation and propaganda. And who are you to be talking about democracy when your leader is a vicious despot.

But it's perfectly okay for the FBI, CIA, NSA, etc, etc to spy on every one of us everyday isn't it. 

I’d trust the U.S. intelligence services before any foreign outfit. You goddamn U.S. government haters and your paranoid deep state shit have read too much crap from your right wing lunatic fringe.

At this point, I wouldn’t trust almost any US government agency. The FBI, CIA, CDC, NIH, DHS, TSA, you name it. They’ve proved not only to be liars, but are blatantly violating the US Constitution with impunity.  The FBI and other government agencies had regular meetings with social media on censorship. They literally flagged posts to be taken down. It wasn’t because those posts were threatening illegal activity or possibly involved in some kind of plot. It’s that they were deemed “misinformation.” This applies to Covid, elections, and pretty much any other political topic (and before you start with “Covid shouldn’t be political,” I mean “political” as in a debate on public policy).  

waveparticle said:

This is frivolous to the lowest level. TikTok is an entertaining tool. Government building is for working. Of course it is inappropriate to use TikTok. But making it a national security issue is a plot by China haters to silence democracy. 

No one is making it a national security issue, other than China itself.  The company can protest all it wants, but they are obligated to be in bed with the Chinese communist party. That is just a fact.  You also should take a look at the algorithms in China for youth versus the algorithms here for youth.  

Sounds like they’re really trying to punch up the PR.  

People still think this is about a virus.  “Severity” of the outbreak “could have been controlled.”   Let’s stop there, because it’s all nonsense.  Covid can’t be controlled.  It’s endemic and highly transmissible.  It’s also mutated to be the equivalent of a bad cold.