TikTok Sues U.S. Government Over Bill Requiring Sale

[Supermallet]

That's not what he said. Nor would it matter, since Romney had no hand in writing the bill.

Here is the direct quote:
“The way this has played out on social media has dominated the narrative,” Blinken said of the war. “You have a social media environment in which context, history, facts, get lost — and the emotion, the impact of images dominates.”

In a telling response, Romney noted that while “some wonder why there was such overwhelming support for us to shut down potentially TikTok,” if “you look at the posting on TikTok and the number of Palestinians relative to other social media sites, its overwhelmingly so on TikTok.”

“So I know that’s of real interest, and the president will have a chance to take action in that regard,” Romney added.

What other way are we supposed to read that? TikTok has overwhelmingly the most content from Palestinians, the Palestinians are clearly pro-Palestine, and the government drummed up support for banning TikTok so they can "take action in that regard."

And who wrote the bill is irrelevant, who supported and voted for the bill is relevant.

 

[Naraxus]

I think you’re being sarcastic, It’s pretty obvious what the news sources he watches. Although it’s debatable, if it’s actually news, even though news are in the name

Go ahead and speculate all you want. Makes no difference to me

 

[d686546s]

I find it very likely that TikTok data finds its way to the Chinese government and whether that creates a valid national security risk will depend, but considering that US platforms are massive vectors for mis- and disinformation campaigns that's entirely likely.

That being said, China's unwillingness to sell massively successful proprietary intellectual property to foreign competitors equally isn't really a sign of anything. Apps like TikTok have really only two assets: the user base and the algorithm driving it. As important as the US market is, why sell it? It's likely an entirely sensible business decision regardless.

 

[Naraxus]

There was vague gesturing about banning it before with no momentum, once it became clear US and Israeli propaganda were outright failing because people could see the genocide in Gaza occurring in real time, all of a sudden the TikTok ban got rammed through (as an addendum to a bill sending $14 billion in aid to Israel no less).

Except there is no genocide in Gaza so....

 

[Supermallet]

Except there is no genocide in Gaza so....

Is the line Israel and the US are failing to sell because apps like TikTok have let us see what's actually happening in real time.

 

[echopulse]

There's a ton of American companies/apps in China.

Plus isn't the whole high horse "we're not China"(even though we're worse)?

Yes, but not any social media apps. Facebook, Twitter, Truthsocial, Instgram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, Quora, and TikTok itself are banned in China.

 

[jarman92]

Here is the direct quote:
“The way this has played out on social media has dominated the narrative,” Blinken said of the war. “You have a social media environment in which context, history, facts, get lost — and the emotion, the impact of images dominates.”

In a telling response, Romney noted that while “some wonder why there was such overwhelming support for us to shut down potentially TikTok,” if “you look at the posting on TikTok and the number of Palestinians relative to other social media sites, its overwhelmingly so on TikTok.”

“So I know that’s of real interest, and the president will have a chance to take action in that regard,” Romney added.

What other way are we supposed to read that? TikTok has overwhelmingly the most content from Palestinians, the Palestinians are clearly pro-Palestine, and the government drummed up support for banning TikTok so they can "take action in that regard."

He was referencing the lopsided ratio of pro-Israel to pro-Palestine content on TikTok vs the rest of social media and saying that shows China manipulates the platform to divide Americans and threaten US interests. Not that the bill passed because of pro-Palestinian content.

And who wrote the bill is irrelevant, who supported and voted for the bill is relevant.

Not to a court of law.

 

[Mousse]

but you do know they have to ask the user for each permission and theres no way to force them to agree to any of it?

There are apps that refuse to start unless you give it full permissions. Automatic red flag in my book.🚩🚩🚩 Besides, the average user doesn't pay attention and agree just to get the app installed.

Any entertainment app that loads itself up on bootup is an instant 🚩. No, only OS and special purpose utility apps should run all the time. Entertainment app should only run when I choose to turn it on.

 

[siddavis]

He was referencing the lopsided ratio of pro-Israel to pro-Palestine content on TikTok vs the rest of social media and saying that shows China manipulates the platform to divide Americans and threaten US interests. Not that the bill passed because of pro-Palestinian content.

That doesn't matter to him. He just keeps repeating that he knows the truth because he saw it on TikTok. (obviously giving a pass to the known fact that China uses it as a propaganda machine)
You can't argue with someone like that because they are fine with the propaganda they like, even when shown that it is... well... propaganda.

 

[Naraxus]

Is the line Israel and the US are failing to sell because apps like TikTok have let us see what's actually happening in real time.

Genocide: The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group, with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

What part of that definition applies to Israel retaliating for the worst slaughter of Jewish people since the Shoah?

 

[CrysisDeu]

ByteDance can self-fornicate. We are under no obligation to allow a company which is controlled by a hostile foreign government to continue to operate in the US. If they won't sell, then shut down their access to the US by whatever means necessary.

Singapore is a hostile foreign government?
Have the US declared war with Singapore?

If you are referring to China. Tiktok is a separate company based in Singapore. If you claim them being a Bytedance company, so I guess it still won’t count as a US company if they split Tiktok US out, because they were built by Bytedance initially? So what SHOULD they do?

Idk when have China declared them being a hostile foreign government, and neither have US declared it.

And if, let’s say, if China is a hostile foreign government, and vice versa, should China force Apple and Tesla to sell their Chinese branch? Would you support that claim?

Where’s the logic?

 

[subjonas]

Most importantly, the government doesn’t even have any proof other than, there’s a risk it could happen.

Proof of what? All they need is proof of risk to take preemptive action. A country would quickly cease to exist if it only responded to bad things after they’ve already happened, never taking precautionary measures. The only caveat is the measure should match the risk level.

 

[bodhisattva]

I don't see anything wrong with TikTok. I learn more on TikTok than on Instagram and Facebook. Many people don't know that American food produces so many chemicals that can harm you in the long run. For instance, Halls's cough drops have red 40 which can harm you the dye is thought to be linked to allergies, migraine, and mental disorders in children. American companies such as Facebook and Instagram will not tell you that. I started to travel around the world and realized if a food product is in America and not in another country it's bad for you. Even the cereal that people eat in America is bad. People should see the ingredient labels behind ketchup bottles and compare American ingredients to other countries. America is worried about an app when there are other things America should be worried about.

Let's all be real here (and I may date myself here), but this type of information has been available as long at there has been an internet. The only thing changing is the delivery technology. If you go back far enough there were AOL chat rooms, message boards, and dare I say even party phone lines where you could learn all the latest news, fears, propaganda. Each generation has its own. And if you think the food industry is the only worry, just look around the info is there and it's worldwide. Just enjoy life and educate yourself. That is the only way to survive in the corp world of buy cheap sell high.. profit profit profit. lol

 

[subjonas]

There was vague gesturing about banning it before with no momentum, once it became clear US and Israeli propaganda were outright failing because people could see the genocide in Gaza occurring in real time, all of a sudden the TikTok ban got rammed through (as an addendum to a bill sending $14 billion in aid to Israel no less).

That’s throwing the baby out with the bath water. Tik Tok should still be banned as long as it has strong influence on US society and is under the control of a hostile foreign adversary. Whether the US gov abused power and deceived the public or not, as bad as that would be, doesn’t change that.

 

[CrysisDeu]

Those are different since they weren’t actively scooping your private data. The issue with TikTok isn’t its content.

Tbh I would rather let someone else to scoop my data. At least they don’t control FBI and can use that against you. The most you will lose, is probably seeing some targeted ads

 

[CrysisDeu]

That’s throwing the baby out with the bath water. Tik Tok should still be banned as long as it has strong influence on US society and is under the control of a hostile foreign adversary. Whether the US gov abused power and deceived the public or not, as bad as that would be, doesn’t change that.

It’s so easy to declare someone as hostile and take things away from them.
It only destroys national credibility, no one would want to invest.

Have you seen how some countries have been selling US bond and removing gold reserve from the US?

 

[dampfnudel]

This will make VPNs & TikTok more popular than it ever was.

Apple could disable the TikTok app on your phone if your GPS location places you within the US. A kind of geofence you could say.

 

[subjonas]

It’s so easy to declare someone as hostile and take things away from them.
It only destroys national credibility, no one would want to invest.

Have you seen how some countries have been selling US bond and removing gold reserve from the US?

You don’t think China and the US are hostile adversaries?

 

[Supermallet]

He was referencing the lopsided ratio of pro-Israel to pro-Palestine content on TikTok vs the rest of social media and saying that shows China manipulates the platform to divide Americans and threaten US interests. Not that the bill passed because of pro-Palestinian content.



Not to a court of law.

That is a fascinating reading of this exchange because China isn't mentioned once. It also fails to account for fact that US social media platforms have their own algorithms that manipulate the content on their platforms, and so they can easily prioritize pro-Israel content and suppress pro-Palestine content, and it's entirely possible that TikTok is actually manipulating content less than US platforms. You're really grasping at straws.

That doesn't matter to him. He just keeps repeating that he knows the truth because he saw it on TikTok. (obviously giving a pass to the known fact that China uses it as a propaganda machine)
You can't argue with someone like that because they are fine with the propaganda they like, even when shown that it is... well... propaganda.

If the truth is on TikTok I wouldn't know because I don't use it, don't even have it installed on my phone.

Funny that I'm being accused of falling for propaganda by people who are falling for extremely obvious and unsubtle US propaganda to justify curtailing free speech. It's pathetic, really.

Genocide: The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group, with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

What part of that definition applies to Israel retaliating for the worst slaughter of Jewish people since the Shoah?

Hoo boy, we got ourselves a dyed in the wool Zionist here. First, the history of this conflict doesn't start on October 7, 2023, but back to the very formation of the state of Israel where Zionists terrorized and killed Palestinians, culminating in the Nakba where approximately 750,000 were expelled from their homes. Since that time Israel has run an apartheid regime where Palestinians are second class citizens. Israel's slaughter of over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, half of them children, along with their deliberate starvation of the remaining from cutting off supply lines and blocking humanitarian aid, their destruction of hospitals and universities, mass graves and other war crimes, are part of a genocide that has been ongoing for the entire life of the state of Israel. Virtually every human rights group on earth has called this a genocide, the ICJ ruled that Israel is in violation of the Genocide Convention, a U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights concluded Israel is committing genocide, and the UN has warned that the Israeli invasion of Rafah could lead to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian casualties.

So all of that meets the definition of genocide.

 

[Supermallet]

That’s throwing the baby out with the bath water. Tik Tok should still be banned as long as it has strong influence on US society and is under the control of a hostile foreign adversary. Whether the US gov abused power and deceived the public or not, as bad as that would be, doesn’t change that.

Show me evidence that the content on TikTok in the US is being manipulated and controlled by the CCP or quit the orientalist fear mongering. The US government has offered nothing concrete to justify this kind of drastic action and bootlickers are falling over themselves to defend this obvious attack on the first amendment because big red China bad!

Joseph McCarthy would be so proud.

 

[lkrupp]

A Chinese company beholding to a totalitarian communist dictatorship that allows no free speech is suing the U.S. over free speech rights? Does that not blow one’s mind or what?

 

[CrysisDeu]

A Chinese company beholding to a totalitarian communist dictatorship that allows no free speech is suing the U.S. over free speech rights? Does that not blow one’s mind or what?

You meant a Singaporean company? Oh right Singapore is also totalitarian

 

[jarman92]

US social media platforms have their own algorithms that manipulate the content on their platforms, and so they can easily prioritize pro-Israel content and suppress pro-Palestine content,

They could, but they obviously aren't since pro-Palestine content significantly outnumbers pro-Israel on every platform, just none close to as much as on TikTok.

Virtually every human rights group on earth has called this a genocide,

Have you ever heard the phrase "when you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail?"

ICJ ruled that Israel is in violation of the Genocide Convention

Just 100% wrong. The closest the ICJ came was to observe that “at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the [Genocide] Convention." That is, even accepting all of South Africa's allegations as true, Israel may be in violation of the Genocide Convention.

So all of that meets the definition of genocide.

No, it doesn't, actually. For one, you've made no link between Israel's killing of Palestinians and the requisite intent to eliminate them as a people.

 

[lkrupp]

Show me evidence that the content on TikTok in the US is being manipulated and controlled by the CCP or quit the orientalist fear mongering. The US government has offered nothing concrete to justify this kind of drastic action and bootlickers are falling over themselves to defend this obvious attack on the first amendment because big red China bad!

Joseph McCarthy would be so proud.

This will of course wind up in the Supreme Court who will likely side with the government. so what happen the? Tent cities on the Whitehouse lawn?

 

[JPack]

Proof of what? All they need is proof of risk to take preemptive action. A country would quickly cease to exist if it only responded to bad things after they’ve already happened, never taking precautionary measures. The only caveat is the measure should match the risk level.

Proof of imminent threat that can only be responded to by a ban.