I'm not a huge fan of TikTok (I think it's just silly and most of the content there is just not for me), but has anyone shown any credible Bad Thing that the app has been doing? It just seems like a vapid time waster that sucks up user data, just like other US-owned vapid time waster apps that suck up user data. Is this just "China Bad" from politicians, or have they actually done something wrong to users?
If TikTok is doing something bad then the bad thing should be illegal, not the platform or who owns it.
But banning bad things would require a well-thought-out bill that could inadvertently protect Americans from domestic tech companies that are also harvesting and selling our personal data and manipulating our attention. And that would be a problem (for politicians).
Easier to just blame China and kick the can down the road to the next generation to deal with the real problems.
> It just seems like a vapid time waster that sucks up user data, just like other US-owned vapid time waster apps that suck up user data. Is this just "China Bad" from politicians, or have they actually done something wrong to users
Well they do seem to push anti-us {anything} (not that there it isn't anything to complain about if you're a US voter) while simultaneously "hide" or "de-promote" anti-china or anti-eastern content.
They also push more us-crime content while they could push more for buddhist content and make more of a difference but it's obvious it's the CCP behind of it all...
Note that this is coming from someone that didn't grow up in the US and is anti-authoritarian (right or left) as they come... (I grew up in Venezuela, left authoritiaran system).
We are somewhat agreed. It's insane that any country should allow foreign control over their media. And hopefully, china and the rest of the world will follow up with similar laws. Not sure why facebook, google, netflix, youtube, etc are allowed in most countries. All important companies should be run locally.
It's funny how the divestiture law is just 'nationalizing' foreign corporations. Something we shamed cuba, et al about. But I'm okay with it.
I think the other poster is pointing out that China already did this, and this law itself is the "follow-up with similar laws" response to their actions.
> I think the other poster is pointing out that China already did this
No china didn't. That's my point. You and the poster's assertion is an outright propaganda lie that's been repeated ad nauseum. China has the same laws that the EU has and the US has. Where citizens' data is stored and controlled locally. Tiktok is storing american data within the US.
If china enacts similar 'tiktok' laws, then apple, microsoft and every tech company operating in china would have to sell its entire chinese operations to chinese entities.
I hope china, india, EU and the rest of the world takes the tiktok bill as a blueprint and enacts similar laws.
Supposedly they used that to start gaining information on actual spending habits, since they sell things directly via TikTok now, at very low prices. Although I’m actually thinking this might be too far fetched of theory.
