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TikTok lovers rage against Trump threat of U.S. ban

27 Comments
By Glenn CHAPMAN

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This is definitely all about Tulsa. And Trump’s demand for a piece of the sale price amounts to extortion. It’s really no different from the yaks that walk into an izakaya and say “Nice bar. It’d be a shame if something happened to it......or you.”

2 ( +10 / -8 )

This is at the heart of the issue, not Trump.......

Revealed: how TikTok censors videos that do not please Beijing

Leak spells out how social media app advances China’s foreign policy aims

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/25/revealed-how-tiktok-censors-videos-that-do-not-please-beijing

TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social network, instructs its moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong, according to leaked documents detailing the site’s moderation guidelines.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

"It's got to be an American company... it's got to be owned here," Trump said. "We don't want to have any problem with security."

The assumption here is that no American companies would gather data and compromise national security interests which is not necessarily true.

Another assumption is that a foreign owned Tik Tok company would compromise national interests which also is not necessarily true. Would a company from a country that is a trusted US ally compromise national interests?

Of course nothing is 100%. Citing national security interests is a tool to compete and masks inadequate domestic competition. The ban is against free market principles and is what China does to protect and promote its national companies, notably banning Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and so on not to mention those in China still have access and which American Tik Tok users will also still be able to via VPN. Adopting CCP tactics is a slippery slope as playing their game will have other unwanted consequences.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social network, instructs its moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong, according to leaked documents detailing the site’s moderation guidelines.

Which does Trump care more about, the above or Tik Tok Tulsa?

The heart of the issue is national security and not free speech. Trump doesn’t give a trump about free speech on a Chinese owned app. If your premise is true, why doesn’t Trump go after WeChat or other Chinese apps used in the US where free speech is compromised?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Whatever the price is, he said, "the United States should get a very large percentage of that price because we're making it possible."

Uh ... no.

Apps not created by the US Govt have no mandate to provide free speech. They are free to censor in any way they like, but best not to make the users unhappy.

TikTok censorship is well-known https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La6yrMgkwiY - that video is banned on TikTok, BTW.

Now, if Trump wants to have laws changed that prevent less than 51% US citizen (or friendly nation partner) ownership, that fine for all businesses earning any revenue through the USA, fine. Targeting a single company is wrong. They can just create another one, different name, that does the same stuff - get all of the Chinese users to move over ... then their extended families world-wide will move over to the new platform and what's left? MSFT paid $billions and lost all the users. When I put it that way, seems like a great idea.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Trump will drop his ban when they change their name to his favorite pastime, Locker Room Tit Talk.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

There was Reddit post where someone reverse engineered Tik Tok app and concluded that it was basically a malware thinly veiled as a social media platform.

People know that Tik Tok is notorious for its data collection. But what most people aren't aware of is what information it collects. Tik Tok collects data outside of its application, including your phone specs, and what apps are downloaded on your phone just to name a few. It's an EXTREMELY invasive app. It also blocks any content that deface the CCP or China.

I honestly think this app should be taken down. Sadly, Microsoft is in talks of purchasing it which means Tik Tok will still walk away with a ton of data and a ton of cash. It's a win-win situation for them.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Just curious but if you sign up for TikTok just what personal data do you have to provide? More than you would for Twitter or Facebook?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Here you go Harry_Gatto......

https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us

I am not a user of Facebook, Twitter, etc

Nothing in life is free, least of all the above.

I enjoy a face to face drink at the Izakaya, pandemic or not.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Trump also said the sale of TikTok's US business would have to result in a significant payout to the U.S. Treasury for initiating it.

Except it's not like that at all, and what Trump is really saying here is that foreign companies who want to operate in the US need to pay some upfront cost to do so. And if they sell to remain here, they owe the government a portion of the sale because we have a base of consumers. Trump takes an already dubious practice in real estate to a worse extreme that turns it into extortion. And let's just call it that. Trump is looking to extort foreign companies, threatening bans and forcing sells, and trying to take a piece of it. This is ***** masked as nationalism.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

itsonlyrocknrollToday  01:29 pm JST

Here you go Harry_Gatto......

https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us

Thank you. I've read through that and find it downright scary. How anyone in their right mind can willingly accept that is beyond me.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If it’s a security issue then let’s solve it..pronto. Not many Chinese Communist Party lovers in the world, including in China if you take away the guns pointed at individuals.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Guy Who Reverse-Engineered TikTok Reveals The Scary Things He Learned, Advises People To Stay Away From It:

https://www.boredpanda.com/tik-tok-reverse-engineered-data-information-collecting/?utm_source=qwant&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=organic

TikTok Reverse Engineered: What Was Discovered Will Make You Delete It ASAP

https://hothardware.com/news/tiktok-reverse-engineered-beware-privacy

Quote:

*Some variants of the app had GPS pinging enabled at the time, roughly once every 30 seconds - this is enabled by default if you ever location-tag a post IIRC*

*They set up a local proxy server on your device for "transcoding media", but **t***hat can be abused very easily as it has zero authentication**

Still think the ccp communist DICTATORSHIP isn't monitoring the millions of young American "influencers" for political manipulation?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

There is no amount of protection which will keep a stupid end-user safe. If TikTok is saying what they do, there really isn't much more to be done under current US law besides attempting to make users aware.

For people under 30, they just don't care. They've already decided that everyone, everywhere knows where they are, what phone they have, which apps are loaded, running, and the same for all their friends.

Oddly, the NSA came out with new privacy suggestions that include disabling all wifi, all bluetooth, all GPS, unless those specific capabilities are used. They suggest going into the per-app permissions and disabling those capabilities for each app that doesn't need to them for a valid reason. Why would a "Contacts" app need fine location data? The NSA also suggests using Airplane mode along with disabling wifi, BT, and GPS - though they say that some phones will re-enable BT and GPS anyway in that mode. https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/04/2002469874/-1/-1/0/CSI_LIMITING_LOCATION_DATA_EXPOSURE_FINAL.PDF

A more user friendly write up: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/beware-of-find-my-phone-wi-fi-and-bluetooth-nsa-tells-mobile-users/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

While I agree that ANY Chinese app should be banned, EVERYWHERE, (based only on my opinion of their government, not the Chinese people themselves), I also agree the only reason Trump even cares is because it was used to embarrass him at his Tulsa rally.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I also agree the only reason Trump even cares is because it was used to embarrass him at his Tulsa rally

If someone deliberately uses a tool to embarrass you, why wouldn't you want to take away his/her means of embarrassing you?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

If someone deliberately uses a tool to embarrass you, why wouldn't you want to take away his/her means of embarrassing you?

Yeah, because America needs a president who focuses the energy of the country on addressing his personal issues. How's that working out for the country by the way? I assume it's not rotting with disease and burning with riots. Right?

...right?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Wesley

I'm just shrugging. Doesn't matter. He does a better job of embarrassing himself than anyone else can anyway. I just can't help but wonder if the folks he still has supporting him actually believe he cares about anything but himself and his ego, or if they are just pretending not to see it to save face for other people already knowing they support him.......

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Except it's not like that at all, and what Trump is really saying here is that foreign companies who want to operate in the US need to pay some upfront cost to do so. And if they sell to remain here, they owe the government a portion of the sale because we have a base of consumers."

That isn't how US law works. There are no laws requiring foreign firms to pay the Federal government anything up front to do business here. In fact it is illegal. Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act it is illegal for a foreign government to make such a demand of an American company and the company could be prosecuted in the US for paying such a bribe. A few firms have been so prosecuted. It is also a violation of an OECD Anti-Bribery convention to which the US is a signatory.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Let's be honest. The USA can no longer compete with China. That is the only reason for "decoupling".

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Let's be honest. The USA can no longer compete with China. That is the only reason for "decoupling".

Let's be honest. The USA will never been able to compete with a sweat shop/low wage economy. We’ve known this for 40+ years.

Anymore brilliant observations?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The US government is focusing on a platform kids use to post their childish videos and pictures. Well, I guess that's the norm now under Trump. COVID-19??? What's that???

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Trump is reportedly banning Tik Tok so if you want to watch 16-year-olds dance you have to get on a plane with Bill Clinton.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Would a company from a country that is a trusted US ally compromise national interests?"

If there is money to be made, yes. Happens every day. Huge pressure from global corporations to do whatever they want, not tied to the interests of any nation, only those of their board of directors and share holders.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Would a company from a country that is a trusted US ally compromise national interests?"

Do you remember when Toshiba sold the USSR a very special milling machine that allowed the Soviets to finally machine submarine propellers to fine enough tolerances that they were able to lower their acoustic signatures to something very close to that of the best (at the time) US and Japanese submarines? Without that milling machine Soviet subs made a lot of noise underwater and were easy to track. With improved props they were much quieter and harder to find. I still hold a grudge against Toshiba to this day for doing that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Would a company from a country that is a trusted US ally...

I don’t think there are any such counties left in the age of trump. Russia is the closest, but they’re only trusted by trump.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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