US Downloads of TikTok and WeChat to Be Banned on Sunday

[G5isAlive]

The US interfered because of WWII and the various expansionist threats presented by the Cold War and terrorism. You must be very young to not know this. Today only China is an expansionist threat.

The current US admin’s policy is anti-war and to use soft power diplomacy. Hope that continues with all future elected leaders.

Um. Russia is not an expansionist threat? And what about our heavy handed presence in the Middle East? terrorists you say? some we made. and well. others are accusations like weapons of mass destruction that never existed. the US does meddle on a global level. own it.

 

[ericwn]

You might want to hold on to that popcorn until after the election. China's answer to all this crap will come if Trump is reelected against all odds, and it's not going to be nice.

After reading “Apple is doomed” stories here ever since the site launched, it’s refreshing to find one that reads “America is doomed”.

Fetching popcorn, again.

 

[NewUsername]

So a 12 year old girl cant get art supplies for a school project without being beaten as a suspected protester by police? What is wrong with secession? (The US and other free countries have plenty of secession movements that they allow Washington State's Free state comes to mind) Hong Kong has very different values from the mainland it would be good for both parties and it technically is not China's territory yet the UK could legally retake it at this point if they had the military.

When was Xinjiang destructive before China came in? Id be a little rebellious too if the state forced someone to rape me for racial purity then broke up that family for reeducation against my will.

Nope, Hong Kong is 100% Chinese territory. UK cannot take it back. I think you misunderstand the 1984 Joint declaration.

China is indeed extremely sensitive about secession which might seem a bit ridiculous (especially for Europeans), but keep in mind this has everything to do with the trauma of Chinese history between 1839 and 1945, when parts of it territory were constantly taken over by foreign powers. Hong Kong as well is a part of that history. For that reason alone, China will never allow Hong Kong independence.

For us, China and Taiwan may sound like UK and Ireland. But for the Chinese, the only reason Taiwan is not part of China is because of “US imperialism”. And it's true the CPC might have been able to take over Taiwan at the end of the Civil War if the US didn't intervene, and up until the 1990s most Taiwanese still saw themselves as Chinese. So from a Chinese perspective the “Taiwan issue” is purely because of US involvement.

The truth is somewhere in the middle I think.

 

[macdos]

No, I said he was a Christian lunatic, not that all Christians are lunatics. He's a born-again zealot on a mission from god to fight agianst China.

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And being Christian is making him a lunatic how?

 

[macdos]

Actually, it is more like Apple is doomed, because they're going to be kicked out of China if Trump is reelected, together with most other American companies. The desired decoupling will be reality, and the popcorn might come in handy when the battle for the South China Sea begins. My bets are on the DF-26 kicking out the Yankees for good.

After reading “Apple is doomed” stories here ever since the site launched, it’s refreshing to find one that reads “America is doomed”.

Fetching popcorn, again.

 

[CthuluLemon]

I agree. Is there an imbalance with how China treats US companies compared to how the US treats Chinese companies? Absolutely. The US should be building a legal framework on how to address these issues across the board. Instead POTUS sets a bad precedence, first by requiring a company that pissed him off personally to sell to a US company, and now to ban it.

I don't think he realizes that the US stock market he loves to talk about so much, is heavily reliant on the rest of the world, including China.

I wish I could like this 1000x over. The U.S. needs a robust strategy and framework to combat digital espionage, particularly foreign. But this ad hoc removal of apps isn't one.

 

[macdos]

The US has crushed every secessionist rebellion since its inception until the modern day. I reckon the last stand against native indians took place in the 70s or so, they have since been thoroughly subjugated.

Spain is not going to allow Catalunya become a free state. Basque independece, forget it. Sami nation, hah, yeah right.

What is wrong with secession? (The US and other free countries have plenty of secession movements that they allow Washington State's Free state comes to mind)

 

[5105973]

I am conflicted. One part of me feels that the US cannot legally do this. Such an order would never stand up to judicial scrutiny. Another part of me wants the US to ban every single app and hardware produced by any Chinese company that sells into our market. China mandates that Apple and Google are forced to remove apps in China because of government censorship and the fact that they don't want their people to actually have news and know what's happening in their own country or the world.

IOW China gets to do whatever it wants and sell into our market without penalty while our companies are censored in their market and our products are subject to high import tariffs. The lure of money has caused the west to appease China to the point where China has become a global trade bully.

I'm for banning everything from Chinese owned companies. Period. Too bad about your WeChat and your PoopooChat. Use FaceTime like a respectable person!

I think it’s understandable to feel the way you do and still feel something isn’t right with what the Trump administration is doing or perhaps how and why they’re doing it.

My concern with the Trump Administration is that I don’t trust it. I think this administration sometimes does the right and necessary thing for all the worst reasons. I know if he could, Trump would be happy to be our President Xi Jinping.

I don’t have enough time to go into why I as a person of Asian descent have issues with China’s current government. I breathe easier for extended family in the Asian Pacific regions when I see China being reigned in. But that doesn’t mean I trust that a government like China’s can’t happen here if we relax our vigilance too much. We have the freedom to question what our government does and we should exercise it at all times lest our government become the very thing we fear, which is anything akin to China’s.

If this this administration were truly interested in securing our future, they’d also look into the accusations of Chinese made consumer recreational drones sending data back to China and look into banning those. But the drones haven’t been used to personally humiliate Trump yet. So I have to wonder if that’s why we’ve got these things flying around, taking photos and possibly sending data back to China. It is hard for Americans to comprehend that no detail is small or insignificant enough for the CCP to overlook. They want Orwellian levels of access and control over the very minutae of people’s lives. It doesn’t seem that way because they don’t yank the leash until someone steps a toe out of line. And it’s then you realize how much they care about the things most sane people would deem insignificant. So I’d think looking into data collection by drones would also be a priority for the administration. Yet it is bearing down only on apps that may be used by grassroots movements to influence the election against the current president’s favor.

Getting back to Tik Tok and WeChat, I would have thought Apple and Google would have some way of neutering anything harmful out of the code. But I don’t know how all of this works.

 

[Wando64]

By liberty I mean political freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and economic freedom. You know, stuff like this is taken for granted in the West.

Sure. Freedom of everything, apart from freedom to use TikTok apparently.
Explain that.

 

[Ramchi]

So Chinese people in USA buying the iPhone 12 will be unable to download WeChat to talk with their friends and family?

Sounds like more people will buy Samsung phones from now on.

Really? Samsung or BlackBerry, if it is a USA Ban doesn't matter which mobile one bus in US, these two apps won't work.

 

[Madhatter32]

The US has crushed every secessionist rebellion since its inception until the modern day. I reckon the last stand against native indians took place in the 70s or so, they have since been thoroughly subjugated.

Spain is not going to allow Catalunya become a free state. Basque independece, forget it. Sami nation, hah, yeah right.

The US has a presidential election every four years. It's a two-party system. The US is comprised of 50 sovereign states -- all with democratically elected leaders outside of federal control. On the other hand, China has a one-party system (similar to the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany). That party, the CCP, controls everything in Chinese society. It has subjected ethnic minorities to death or "work" camps. It is known to be a regional bully. It is a regime that has no respect for individual, political or economic freedom. It steals technology from other countries. It engages in political and economic espionage. You can keep defending the CCP, but your comments, at the very least, do not reflect a great understanding of US history or civics generally.

 

[Madhatter32]

Sure. Freedom of everything, apart from freedom to use TikTok apparently.
Explain that.

LOL. No one is suggesting that the US is banning TikTok to limit competition or consumer choice. US consumers have same level of freedom to engage in the same activity on alternative platforms.

 

[iMi]

What I find interesting is that you equate the US government's banning of these apps for the stated desire of protecting American citizens from snooping by the CCP to the Chinese government's banning of other apps and services for the stated desire of not being able to have a back door to further snoop on their own citizens.

You can argue whether or not the US government is being disingenuous in this, but the two situations aren't, from a stated purpose, apples to apples.

Yawn, please. I have one thing to say to that - the Patriot Act.

 

[iMi]

Is Trump a capitalist? Why is the USA meddling with the free markets? Let consumers decide who they give their data to and if it is the Communists then that is their right.

Republicans only care about the government staying out of private sector when it’s convenient for them. Same with everything else, really. They are pro-life until you’re born. They are pro-military until you get hurt and need care. They are pro-state power until the state wants to regulate firearms. They are pro-religion until you decide you want to be atheist. They are pro-democracy until you want to vote against them. They are pro-fiscal responsibility when you want to fund basic services until they get into power and then blow up the deficit with tax cuts for the rich. The list goes on... Today’s republicans are one of the most morally bankrupt political party in history. Right up there with Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.

 

[Wando64]

LOL. No one is suggesting that the US is banning TikTok to limit competition or consumer choice. US consumers have same level of freedom to engage in the same activity on alternative platforms.

just as well, because apparently they cannot chose to use TikTok not can they chose to view what the rest of the free world has been posting on TikTok.
Feel the freedom.

 

[HylianKnight]

I’m proud of most of the people here. I see people presenting informed and thoughtful commentary on both sides of this argument. It’s nice to see people present facts to support their stance instead of opinion and rhetoric. I love you MacRumors community 🧐

 

[MrX8503]

Blocking apps because of ridiculous "suspected" security threats is a MASSIVE precedent. Next thing you know a dozen other apps and services will be blocked... Apple and Google will not comply lying down.

Access to 1B+ devices? Not even in the same universe.

 

[ericwn]

Actually, it is more like Apple is doomed, because they're going to be kicked out of China if Trump is reelected, together with most other American companies. The desired decoupling will be reality, and the popcorn might come in handy when the battle for the South China Sea begins. My bets are on the DF-26 kicking out the Yankees for good.

Oh, well, Apple was called doomed even before it expanded into China. Apparently it’s a beloved status symbol there to this day too, so there’s hope that it want fall victim to the nationalists on either side.
What goes up will come down, in time. Every time.

 

[Morgenland]

Trump kills Apple and makes chinese android brands happy.

 

[nylonsteel]

i can live without those 2 apps
life still goes on

 

[Morgenland]

Republicans only care about the government staying out of private sector when it’s convenient for them. Same with everything else, really. They are pro-life until you’re born. They are pro-military until you get hurt and need care. They are pro-state power until the state wants to regulate firearms. They are pro-religion until you decide you want to be atheist. They are pro-democracy until you want to vote against them. They are pro-fiscal responsibility when you want to fund basic services until they get into power and then blow up the deficit with tax cuts for the rich. The list goes on... Today’s republicans are one of the most morally bankrupt political party in history. Right up there with Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.

Agree. It’s sad to see, how ****ed up Republikans are these days.

 

[The Game 161]

And what is the population of Chinese users in US

 

[Yojimbo007]

In China the ban doesn’t apply. They can still download whatever is legal there. If some Chinese citizen in the US has an iPhone they can link a China mainland based iCloud account and access the apps.

And how about Chinese individuals who are US citizans and have no access to Chinese Accounts.. and they like to have WeChat to communicate with their friends and family in China?

 

[Yojimbo007]

The US interfered because of WWII and the various expansionist threats presented by the Cold War and terrorism. You must be very young to not know this. Today only China is an expansionist threat.

The current US admin’s policy is anti-war and to use soft power diplomacy. Hope that continues with all future elected leaders.

Partially Correct... But dont forget one of the biggest reason for US interference and down right destruction ... OIL!

 

[Smearbrick]

This was being done by prior administrations as well. I’m not saying that’s ok because it’s not. I condemn the Trump administration for failing to end the practices called out by Edward Snowden that were taking place under Obama. I do. But there is a clear national security issue with TikTok. The only people calling it ”made-up” are those with their heads in the sands that don’t understand location-tracking APIs and physical server location issues.

It actually began before the Obama administration, but was outed by Snowden during the his administration.

I think Apple and Android have the ability to clamp down and limit the information being mined by these developers. I’m not sure why they aren’t.