tiktok must be banned, facebook needs the boost after mark's metaverse flop

Vice's usual drivel. Yes, ignore the fact that we don't allow Huawei phones here either, because they directly interface with the CCP. TikTok must be saved! What will we do without our daily dose of idiocy? Oh, You TUbe and Insta and everyone else has the same short form videos? Uh, uh, FIRST AMENDMENT! Nope, sorry, not the government stopping you from saying what you like. Try again.

Agent.X7 wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 13:43:
Vice's usual drivel. Yes, ignore the fact that we don't allow Huawei phones here either, because they directly interface with the CCP. TikTok must be saved! What will we do without our daily dose of idiocy? Oh, You TUbe and Insta and everyone else has the same short form videos? Uh, uh, FIRST AMENDMENT! Nope, sorry, not the government stopping you from saying what you like. Try again.

Not to mention, China's government routinely bans software/sites it views as too "western" or that it can't control: Gmail, Dropbox, Instagram, FB (justified), Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit, Quora, YouTube, Google Play, Spotify, Google search, Wikipedia, Wordpress, and most importantly any kind of pr0n, just to name a few.

Some people are really in support of the government telling them what apps they can and cannot use eh? Or do they just not use it, and are in support of the government preventing other people from having the choice?

It is a weird position to take on just about any topic. It makes me wonder what wires are crossed in their brains to jump on this band wagon. I have yet to come across a compelling argument for banning it. The common theme I see in supporters of the ban isn't painting the picture of an informed crowd, more of a brain-dead mob.

FloodAnxiety wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 14:59:
I have yet to come across a compelling argument for banning it.

It seems pretty straight-forward to me. If it's collecting data and sending it to a foreign government without the user's consent, then it's malware, and malware is illegal. Preventing illegal activity is a core govermental activity, so banning it is clearly in their purview.

FloodAnxiety wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 14:59:
Some people are really in support of the government telling them what apps they can and cannot use eh? Or do they just not use it, and are in support of the government preventing other people from having the choice?

Of course, government regulates many things, that's part of its purpose. We cannot trust "the free market" when this app is controlled by a foreign government and can be weaponized against us in the form of theft, manipulation, blackmail or propaganda. It has societal implications and that is why government is involved.

You have not presented a compelling argument for why this particular app should be tolerated by the way. You speak generally when this is about a specific issue.

This comment was edited on Mar 23, 2023, 15:53.

How about making it easy to cancel a timeshare.

RedEye9 wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 18:55:
How about making it easy to cancel a timeshare.

Along with making it easier to file taxes while living abroad. I still gotta print out and snail mail that crap every year

ZeroPike1 wrote on Mar 24, 2023, 06:44:

RedEye9 wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 18:55:
How about making it easy to cancel a timeshare.

Along with making it easier to file taxes while living abroad. I still gotta print out and snail mail that crap every year

While we’re both overdosing on dreamlike hallucinations, why not a flat tax.

Utah has the cure for TikTok
Kids under 18 are prohibited from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., require age verification for anyone who wants to use social media in the state and seek to prevent tech companies from luring kids to their apps using addictive features.
New laws enacted by the governor also require parental consent before kids can sign up for sites like TikTok and Instagram.
Source NPR something something nanny state, Welcome to the Republic of Gilead

RedEye9 wrote on Mar 24, 2023, 08:46:
Utah has the cure for TikTok
Kids under 18 are prohibited from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., require age verification for anyone who wants to use social media in the state and seek to prevent tech companies from luring kids to their apps using addictive features.
New laws enacted by the governor also require parental consent before kids can sign up for sites like TikTok and Instagram.
Source NPR something something nanny state, Welcome to the Republic of Gilead

Love that small government mindset, no?

Verno wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 15:37:

FloodAnxiety wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 14:59:
Some people are really in support of the government telling them what apps they can and cannot use eh? Or do they just not use it, and are in support of the government preventing other people from having the choice?

Of course, government regulates many things, that's part of its purpose. We cannot trust "the free market" when this app is controlled by a foreign government and can be weaponized against us in the form of theft, manipulation, blackmail or propaganda. It has societal implications and that is why government is involved.

Bingo.

You can learn a lot about someone by tracking their time and location.

You can learn a lot about the internal workings of a building or an entire organization by tracking the times and locations of those in it.

When they want to sell us something based on that information it is invasive and annoying but when a foreign adversary does it is a national security threat.

That is just one concern. It might not even be valid in these circumstances (I don't know what TikTok tracks), I am just saying that it should be at least scrutinized because of reasons we can't even imagine yet.

As jdreyer points out, we are playing by the precedent they established.

People support the government telling us what we can and can not drink, right?

Or do people think Coca-Cola should not only still contain cocaine, but also not tell us that they do.

Beamer wrote on Mar 24, 2023, 12:34:
People support the government telling us what we can and can not drink, right?

Or do people think Coca-Cola should not only still contain cocaine, but also not tell us that they do.

puleeze
If the government cared about Americans privacy it would disband the NSA and shutdown Facebook.

RedEye9 wrote on Mar 24, 2023, 13:12:

Beamer wrote on Mar 24, 2023, 12:34:
People support the government telling us what we can and can not drink, right?

Or do people think Coca-Cola should not only still contain cocaine, but also not tell us that they do.

puleeze
If the government cared about Americans privacy it would disband the NSA and shutdown Facebook.

They're concerned about security, not privacy.
Privacy isn't much of an issue. Facebook knows less about you than your ISP does. I'm not saying it isn't an issue, but it isn't much of one. People really misunderstand what companies know about us and how it's used.
How algorithms divide and radicalize is a much larger problem, I think.

snippets
,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,
"American social companies don’t have a great record with privacy and data security. I mean, look at Facebook and Cambridge Analytica."

While the European Union has far-reaching privacy laws, Congress has not agreed on national privacy legislation, leaving Americans’ online data rights up to a patchwork of state and federal laws. In the meantime, reams of data on Americans’ shopping habits, browsing history and real-time location, collected by websites and mobile apps, is bought and sold on the open market in a multi-hundred-billion-dollar industry.
If the Chinese Communist Party wanted that data, it could get huge volumes of it without ever tapping TikTok. (In fact, TikTok says it has stopped tracking U.S. users’ precise location, putting it ahead of many American apps on at least one important privacy front.)

Worries about TikTok’s addictive algorithms, its effects on teens’ mental health, and its hosting of propaganda and extreme content are common to its American rivals, including Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram. Congress has not meaningfully addressed those, either.
the above snippets from https://wapo.st/3lCs8ND
America’s online privacy problems are much bigger than TikTok
Concerns of Chinese data access highlight Congress’s own failure to protect Americans’ personal information
,.,.,.,.,.,,..,,.,

Now why are we going after TikTok again?

Bodolza wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 15:30:

FloodAnxiety wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 14:59:
I have yet to come across a compelling argument for banning it.

It seems pretty straight-forward to me. If it's collecting data and sending it to a foreign government without the user's consent, then it's malware, and malware is illegal. Preventing illegal activity is a core govermental activity, so banning it is clearly in their purview.

Are you claiming you have evidence of "collecting data and sending it to a foreign government" or are you just speculating based on the fud you've read?

Verno wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 15:37:

FloodAnxiety wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 14:59:
Some people are really in support of the government telling them what apps they can and cannot use eh? Or do they just not use it, and are in support of the government preventing other people from having the choice?

Of course, government regulates many things, that's part of its purpose. We cannot trust "the free market" when this app is controlled by a foreign government and can be weaponized against us in the form of theft, manipulation, blackmail or propaganda. It has societal implications and that is why government is involved.

You have not presented a compelling argument for why this particular app should be tolerated by the way. You speak generally when this is about a specific issue.

You claim things you have no evidence to back up. The government, as evidenced by the hearings, are a bunch of idiots who do not understand technology, and you want their opinion on the matter to override your informed opinion? Do you routinely regulate your decisions on uninformed people in other aspects of you lives?

fujiJuice wrote on Mar 24, 2023, 12:31:

Verno wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 15:37:

FloodAnxiety wrote on Mar 23, 2023, 14:59:
Some people are really in support of the government telling them what apps they can and cannot use eh? Or do they just not use it, and are in support of the government preventing other people from having the choice?

Of course, government regulates many things, that's part of its purpose. We cannot trust "the free market" when this app is controlled by a foreign government and can be weaponized against us in the form of theft, manipulation, blackmail or propaganda. It has societal implications and that is why government is involved.

Bingo.

You can learn a lot about someone by tracking their time and location.

You can learn a lot about the internal workings of a building or an entire organization by tracking the times and locations of those in it.

When they want to sell us something based on that information it is invasive and annoying but when a foreign adversary does it is a national security threat.

That is just one concern. It might not even be valid in these circumstances (I don't know what TikTok tracks), I am just saying that it should be at least scrutinized because of reasons we can't even imagine yet.

As jdreyer points out, we are playing by the precedent they established.

So... you don't know anything about the circumstances but you are defending it anyways. Yikes. Thanks for your contribution?

Beamer wrote on Mar 24, 2023, 12:34:
People support the government telling us what we can and can not drink, right?

Or do people think Coca-Cola should not only still contain cocaine, but also not tell us that they do.

Uh, weird...

Government doesn't tell us what we can and cannot drink... they tell people who sell drinks who they can sell it to, or if it is poison, tells them they can't sell it. The government can't stop MAGAs from drinking bleach.

Do you think Coca-Cola inability to secretly put a narcotic in a beverage is the same thing as telling people what social media apps they should be allowed to use? What was the last piece of software or service that you are aware of that the government banned and what was the reason they did it?