Trump Administration Considers Global TikTok App Store Ban

[AgentAnonymous]

Apple is ultimately a U.S.-based company that has to play by the rules of the nation (even if they are only temporary executive orders).

The phrase you're looking for is "American company". Apple is an American company.

No one would say "Japan based company". They would simply say Japanese company. It is strange to me that everyone likes to pretend that nothing can be American. Or maybe it makes them insecure to knowledge that most of everything that matters in tech is American.

 

[AgentAnonymous]

Did I miss something or is Trump now the leader of the world?

I don't agree with any censorship. Doesn't matter if it's Winnie Pooh or Angry Orange.

Facebook is spying on Europeans for years now without any consequences. Oh right, USA are "the good ones", while every other state that is not controlled by US is considered "the bad ones".

If you have a problem you can always stop using American products, platforms, and software, but that would mean going back to the stone ages. It is strange to me that you, as a foreigner, will buy an American product like an iPhone and then try to dictate what Apple is allowed to do on their own app store for said product. Entitlement.

 

[AgentAnonymous]

Umm; nope. We'll download w


Millions also still use Facebook outside the USA, shall the EU issue a world wide ban on Facebook to stop our data ending up in the hands of a Trump regime?

1. Facebook is not an "EU" invention. It is an American invention (just like everything else you that matters).
2. The app store is a service for Apple products, which is why they can ban apps from it globally. It's their app store.

It is strange to me that you, as a foreigner, will buy an American product like an iPhone and then try to dictate what Apple is allowed to do on their own app store for said product. If Apple complying with a lawful government order to remove spyware from their own app store is such a problem for you, throw away your Apple products and while you're at it delete your MacRumors account, stop posting here, and uninstall Chrome and Firefox too. All American.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I disagree with (5). I think the major issue is that China could act faster and be more decisive in the early response. They are overly cautious about having strong evidence before putting out warnings to the public. But I don’t know any evidence that they lied or deliberately provide false info. In fact, the information they provide is fairly accurate.

Ok, I give you that a simple "China lied" might be simplistic and premature considering the fact that we're still into this mess and that it might be too early for "historical evaluations", but I'd say that the statement has some validity nonetheless.

This is a good article by The Atlantic (certainly a non-Trumpian source): https://www.theatlantic.com/politic...ganization-blame-pandemic-coronavirus/609820/

Another article on a similar - but not identical - line is from Foreign Affairs (or, the powerful Council of Foreign Relations, which is another non-Trumpian source):

The WHO and China: Dereliction of Duty

The WHO’s weak response to China’s mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak has laundered China’s image at the expense of the WHO’s credibility. The time is ripe for clear leadership from the WHO based o…

www.cfr.org

 

[kaycrystal626]

If you have a problem you can always stop using American products, platforms, and software, but that would mean going back to the stone ages. It is strange to me that you, as a foreigner, will buy an American product like an iPhone and then try to dictate what Apple is allowed to do on their own app store for said product. Entitlement.

The problem is the US accuse other spying while they are the one does most the spying!

 

[yaxomoxay]

The problem is the US accuse other spying while they are the one does most the spying!

All countries spy, and when they get caught they are called out and/or counter-espionage activities start.

 

[coldwaves]

Ok, I give you that a simple "China lied" might be simplistic and premature considering the fact that we're still into this mess and that it might be too early for "historical evaluations", but I'd say that the statement has some validity nonetheless.

This is a good article by The Atlantic (certainly a non-Trumpian source): https://www.theatlantic.com/politic...ganization-blame-pandemic-coronavirus/609820/

Another article on a similar - but not identical - line is from Foreign Affairs (or, the powerful Council of Foreign Relations, which is another non-Trumpian source):

The WHO and China: Dereliction of Duty

The WHO’s weak response to China’s mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak has laundered China’s image at the expense of the WHO’s credibility. The time is ripe for clear leadership from the WHO based o…

www.cfr.org

These articles basically say the same thing I said in my post, that the response can be faster, that the Chinese government can be more alarming. Neither articles provided any evidence that China lied.

 

[yaxomoxay]

These articles basically say the same thing I said in my post, that the response can be faster, that the Chinese government can be more alarming. Neither articles provided any evidence that China lied.

I disagree, esp. in reference to the first article... however time will tell.

 

[johnnyrb]

"Deserve"? Are you really going for the "she dressed provocatively so..." argument?

Honestly, I don't care.

 

[dampfnudel]

Oh, get a grip, will you? It's China's fault - because Trump told you it was? Viruses develop everywhere in the world. This one happened to emerge in China. As the Chinese government has no control over evolution, only a dolt would blame them for that. Yes, the local government tried to ignore and/or cover it up. No excuse for that, but there are id1ots in every local government - one has to look no further than the governor of Florida who's trying real hard to outdo Trump in being responsible for the most deaths due to ineptitude/ignorance/sycophancy.

The Chinese government warned other countries about the virus by end of December. The US didn't do anything except block a few travelers from China until March. And even then it has been half-a$$ed and mostly on the state level, because the Orange One takes no responsibility or leadership and has no plan. Trump's ineptitude is single-handedly responsible for at least 70k deaths out of 170k (and counting - we still don't have national strategy).

Trump and his administration screwed up, no doubt. His admirers in Brazil and India are sadly following his lead, but given the lack of resources in those countries, it’s understandable to a degree. I think the sooner he leaves the White House, the better. With that being said, personally I’m not giving the Chinese government a pass for their mishandling, lack of transparency, questionable death toll counts and aggressive/potentially deadly response to any internal criticism. Anyone who believes the death toll in China is half of the death toll in tiny Belgium is being naive.

If anything, this pandemic along with what’s happening in Hong Kong and elsewhere has served as a glaring reminder that not only should we continue to view China as major threat to a free and open society, we are obligated to take actions such as banning apps that may serve as information conduits to the Chinese government to preserve that freedom. That also includes action to limit/restrict data gathered by other governments including the US as well as private companies.

 

[coldwaves]

I disagree, esp. in reference to the first article... however time will tell.

I disagree.That article treats knowledge gained later from retrospective investigation as something known at the moment. It treats something reportedly or allegedly happened as actually happening. Too much spin, too little serious examination of facts.

 

[ravenstar]

That's your speculation, there is zero evidence that TikTok even had anything to do with it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a rumor introduced by China when they saw that the US was going to take serious action.
[automerge]1597237946[/automerge]

Please explain how whether TikTok really had anything to do with the turnout at Trump's rally has any bearing on whether he's blaming them? You really don't understand how he thinks, do you?

 

[Creek0512]

Trump may only be in office for another 83 days. Tiki's Toc says that they would take this to the International Courts before taking any action!

You do realize that the President doesn't leave office on Election Day, right? The power transfer happens at 12:00 PM EST on January 20th.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Please explain how whether TikTok really had anything to do with the turnout at Trump's rally has any bearing on whether he's blaming them? You really don't understand how he thinks, do you?

Then, as I said, we're in the realm of speculation. I don't deal in mind-reading, sorry.

 

[ravenstar]

The virus popped up in China in late 2019, but up to late January no leading expert (WHO and CDC included) was worried. As of late February the CDC was not worried, and Fauci himself said that Trump followed all the recommendations that were sent to the Oval Office, no questions asked. So again, what was Trump supposed to do to stop a highly contagious airborne virus that landed in the US and Europe in late December/Early January?

Let's see, there's lockdowns, requiring masks, providing medical equipment and supplies to areas that needed them, gathering a team of experts that actually knew something about infectious diseases. That's just the positives for a start. He could also have stopped lying about how serious the disease was, stopped blocking his experts from providing information to the public, stopped promoting hydroxychloroquine, stopped promoting pseudo cures, in short, just shut up and let the real experts do their jobs. He could have rallied Americans to prepare to fight the epidemic instead of telling them to ignore it and it will be over soon. He could have been honest about how much was and wasn't known, and about how serious the disease was instead of encouraging people to spread it around. How do I know all this? Because there were state leaders who did these things and Trump fought them.

Trump is an ignorant fool who believes no one else knows more than him and doesn't care one iota about anyone else in the world. One does not need to be a genius to be a good leader, just someone who recognizes who the best people are for a job and who then gives them the authority to use their talents. Trump is an utter failure on all counts because he insists that only he has the answers.

As for what Fauci said, it can both be true and condemning of Trump. Trump has left a trail of discarded advisors who knew better than him on any number of topics. Anyone left knows they either keep silent or agree if they wish to keep their jobs.

Quite honestly, if you ask what more Trump could have done, either you haven't been paying attention to the real experts, or you've been discounting what they've been saying just like Trump. You're not going to get the answers you want here.

 

[ravenstar]

Then, as I said, we're in the realm of speculation. I don't deal in mind-reading, sorry.

One need not read minds to make observations. You've got 4 years of data, why is it not apparent to you that Trump retaliates against anyone or any thing that crosses him?

 

[ravenstar]

I pointed out that what we know so far:
1) CDC and WHO weren't overly worried as of late January (how long did it take for the WHO to simply say "pandemic"?)
2) CDC expert was not overly worried until the beginning of March
3) CDC expert said that President Trump followed all the recommendations that were sent to the Oval Office.
4) The pandemic did a mess in many other places (see Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Brazil, UK), so looking at Trump as the failure point is proven as reductive at best.
5) China lied multiple times.

So again, the question is simple.

"Overly worried" is a very subjective term. The CDC was holding briefings on the Coronavirus every few days starting in mid-January (transcripts on the CDC website), so they clearly were concerned. On January 17 they reported the situation was evolving "hour by hour". Anyone familiar with emergency response knows that means that there's a good deal of concern. On that day they also said the "current risk from this virus to the public is low." A true statement at the time since there were only 3 cases known outside of China at the time. Even then they started screening passengers coming from China. That's not something an organization does that's not worried about a disease.

"Pandemic" was used officially only very late in the evolution of the disease, mostly, at least as was reported at the time, to avoid causing some unspecified global panic. Only after news organizations had questioned why it was not a pandemic and used the term themselves for a number of days did the WHO give in. At face value, that was a misguided effort that probably hindered the public's response.

Trump has interfered with the CDC's work, forcing them to revise their science based recommendations to reflect his own ambitions. Saying that "Trump followed all the recommendations that were sent to the Oval Office" is meaningless, since it is documented that he insisted on recommendations being called drafts until he approved of them. It is absolutely not a statement that he did everything that could have or should have been done or that expert consensus recommended be done.

Yes, the pandemic did make a mess of many other places. But that's the childish "but everyone is doing it" defense. We could also say the Coronavirus did not impact many other countries nearly as much as the US and conclude that the US efforts were a disaster.

As for China lying multiple times, what does it matter? So has Trump. At best we could say they both share the blame, but China is not responsible for the abdication of responsibility shown by the US administration.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

Months to prepare is a bit of a hyperbole, however, what should've Trump done and when? Be specific.

we knew about the coronavirus as early as December, and it reached the US in March. When it arrived, the US could have implemented lockdowns and stringent face mask policies along with mobilizing sweeping, free drive thru and walk-in testing across the country, funding a vaccine earlier and freezing both rent and mortgage payments and paid out stimulus checks monthly. Sounds like a lot? It’s really not, given that we are the wealthiest nation in the world and, purportedly, a beacon of first world values and freedoms that other envy

 

[koruki]

China ban facebook in China. BAD

Trump ban Tiktok for the entire world. FINE

 

[sparkso]

That would be nice. Seriously sick of china copying ideas.

 

[Abazigal]

China ban facebook in China. BAD

Trump ban Tiktok for the entire world. FINE

Something something about enemy of my enemy being my friend...

 

[Tanax]

There aren't too many Americans that believe this administration is "the good guys". Still more than there should be, but far from a majority.

I totally get that. I didn't mean to imply that all American people believe this. When I referred to America and China, I meant the administrations of said countries.

Let's hope people do the right thing in the upcoming election!

 

[ravenstar]

I totally get that. I didn't mean to imply that all American people believe this. When I referred to America and China, I meant the administrations of said countries.

Let's hope people do the right thing in the upcoming election!

I cannot agree enough with you!

 

[Hirakata]

we knew about the coronavirus as early as December, and it reached the US in March. When it arrived, the US could have implemented lockdowns and stringent face mask policies along with mobilizing sweeping, free drive thru and walk-in testing across the country, funding a vaccine earlier and freezing both rent and mortgage payments and paid out stimulus checks monthly. Sounds like a lot? It’s really not, given that we are the wealthiest nation in the world and, purportedly, a beacon of first world values and freedoms that other envy

Do you get your information from a source, or just make it up on the fly? The first US case was in mid to late January. The first EU cases (depending on country) were between Jan. 24 and Feb. 21. So to say that it reached the US in March is quite false. And to say (as you did in a previous post) that most first world countries had it before the US is also false.

When Did the Coronavirus Arrive in the U.S.? Here’s a Review of the Evidence. (Published 2020)

Was the virus here in January? In December? Earlier? Here’s a look at the evidence of how the virus emerged from China and landed in the United States.

www.nytimes.com

Eurosurveillance | First cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the WHO European Region, 24 January to 21 February 2020

In the WHO European Region, COVID-19 surveillance was implemented 27 January 2020. We detail the first European cases. As at 21 February, nine European countries reported 47 cases. Among 38 cases studied, 21 were linked to two clusters in Germany and France, 14 were infected in China. Median...

www.eurosurveillance.org

Please stop passing along false information and timelines. I could watch the news if I wanted that! Everything you stated is opinion, which is totally fine. But when making statements that are supposed fact, please pass along a source.

 

[Hirakata]

Let's hope people do the right thing in the upcoming election!

The "right thing" according to you, of course.