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Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

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Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.

2024-App-Store-Awards.jpg

Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google risked enormous fines if they did not remove access to TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps.

In a support document published today, Apple said it is "obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates."

Apple removed TikTok, and other ByteDance-owned apps such as CapCut and Hypic, pursuant to the law that required them to.

"Pursuant to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries — including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8, and others — will no longer be available for download or updates on the App Store for users in the United States starting January 19, 2025," wrote Apple.

Apple's support document also states that foreign visitors to the U.S. may have limited access to ByteDance app functionality due to the law.

iPhone and iPad users in the U.S. who already installed TikTok can no longer use the app as of late Saturday, as TikTok has made the app "temporarily unavailable." Outside of the U.S., the app remains available on the App Store and is fully functional.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office this Monday, January 20, and he reportedly might give TikTok a 90-day reprieve on the ban. However, it is not clear if TikTok will ever be able to operate again in the U.S. under ByteDance ownership, or if it will simply be given more time to sort out American ownership.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/01/19/apple-explains-why-it-removed-tiktok/
No matter what country you live in - you are the product. You are the stock that is farmed for others economic benefit.

In China this benefit is managed by the political elite. In the US, this is managed by a kleptocratic alliance between the political and business elite.
 
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This is just ridiculous to see in America.
This is exactly how dictatorship established in russia — first they ban or restrict something that seems so insignificant. A bunch of people complain online but no one takes a real action.
This is how those who handle the power realize they can do basically anything. And they might do that. Or might not. But do you really wanna check out where they would draw the line that won’t affect you personally? I am as a citizen of the country that allowed all of that **** to happen and then just invaded the other country. This crap escalates because these old men are this hungry.
Yeah, some of you might say it’s just an app, no big deal, there are more serious issues within the country than a ban of TikTok and you might be right. But this is how they take away your power to address the issues.
Please, take care and keep your eyes wide open!
 
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DMG35 said:
Because we're supposed to be a free country.
Click to expand...

A free country doesn’t exist. And it’s a silly idea anyway. Utterly naive.

All civilised society should aim for a functional democracy where the voters are well educated and well informed.

TikTok, and notably most other big tech owned or managed spaces, are breeding grounds for democracy to be well misinformed.

…as indicated by the google trends in the US shooting through the roof for “what’s an oligarchy?”
 
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sergekills said:
This is just ridiculous to see in America.
This is exactly how dictatorship established in russia — first they ban or restrict something that seems so insignificant. A bunch of people complain online but no one takes a real action.
This is how those who handle the power realize they can do basically anything. And they might do that. It might not. But do you really wanna check out where they would draw the line that won’t affect you personally? I am as a citizen of the country that allowed all of that **** to happen and then just invaded the other country. This crap escalates because these old men are this hungry.
Yeah, some of you might say it’s just an app, no big deal, there are more serious issues within the country than a ban of TikTok and you might be right. But this is how they take away your power to address the issues.
Please, take care and keep your eyes wide open!
Click to expand...

It’s not really the same. Russia doesn’t work the same as the usual Western states so you can’t exactly compare the two on your own standards. You need some social context there.

To quote a Russian friend, the reason Russia is going down the tubes is because no one cares until it affects them. It is what it is. It’s more fatalist than western culture.
 
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DMG35 said:
Because we're supposed to be a free country.
Click to expand...

And if a foreign country invades, should we just let them?

Look, I agree that the US has not done a good job of describing just how much data is being hoovered by the Chinese. I invite you to read the specifics of the TikTok user agreement.

Yes, Meta and all the rest do the same and it is for that reason that I don't use anything under the Meta umbrella, but it is silly not to acknowledge the difference between a US company doing it for profit and a foreign adversary using it to bury us.
 
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sergekills said:
This is just ridiculous to see in America.
This is exactly how dictatorship established in russia — first they ban or restrict something that seems so insignificant. A bunch of people complain online but no one takes a real action.
This is how those who handle the power realize they can do basically anything. And they might do that. Or might not. But do you really wanna check out where they would draw the line that won’t affect you personally? I am as a citizen of the country that allowed all of that **** to happen and then just invaded the other country. This crap escalates because these old men are this hungry.
Yeah, some of you might say it’s just an app, no big deal, there are more serious issues within the country than a ban of TikTok and you might be right. But this is how they take away your power to address the issues.
Please, take care and keep your eyes wide open!
Click to expand...
TikTok user alert right here! You're so upset you had to post this twice.
 
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cjsuk said:
It’s not really the same. Russia doesn’t work the same as the usual Western states so you can’t exactly compare the two on your own standards. You need some social context there.

To quote a Russian friend, the reason Russia is going down the tubes is because no one cares until it affects them. It is what it is. It’s more fatalist than western culture.
Click to expand...
I’m not comparing the countries, I’m just saying that this is how it began. Trump already has the senate and the Supreme Court.
But this guys is on your watch.
 
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sergekills said:
This is just ridiculous to see in America.
This is exactly how dictatorship established in russia — first they ban or restrict something that seems so insignificant. A bunch of people complain online but no one takes a real action.
This is how those who handle the power realize they can do basically anything. And they might do that. It might not. But do you really wanna check out where they would draw the line that won’t affect you personally? I am as a citizen of the country that allowed all of that **** to happen and then just invaded the other country. This crap escalates because these old men are this hungry.
Yeah, some of you might say it’s just an app, no big deal, there are more serious issues within the country than a ban of TikTok and you might be right. But this is how they take away your power to address the issues.
Please, take care and keep your eyes wide open!
Click to expand...

So the American government cannot take action to prevent a foreign adversary from conducting a honeypot operation on American citizens and then using that data to conduct psychological warfare?

TikTok is the online version of a white van with free candy painted on the outside. Free candy sounds great and people like free candy but then don't like what actually comes next.

China does not have the military dominance to take on the US 1v1. They can and are very good at the new type of warfare that is emerging. Its psychological and its going to be very bad.

China is actively preparing to take Taiwan in the next 2-4 years. Their preparations for this are very transparent for anyone paying attention.

When this eventually happens, they are going to have to wage an information warfare too.

The fact that they have a direct connection to a big portion of the American youth is very frightening.
 
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