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Comment by maxsilver | Hacker News Reader

That's a weird line to draw though. That stance is basically saying physical products are OK to sanction, but digital products aren't. (Genshin Impact is a lot closer to Beanie Babies than most people would care to admit)

And it's doubly-ironic because TikTok isn't getting banned because of Chinese messaging (that's already allowed everywhere, in all mediums). TikTok is under ban-threat in the US because Americans are using it for American messaging.

It's not meaningfully different than say, Turkey banning Twitter back in 2014 and such.

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Except controlling communications, thought, and expression is different. The medium isn’t important. It’s what is being controlled.

I agree, it’s not different than an oppressive regime controlling means of communication. It’s in fact precisely the same.

The medium is important if it is artificially inserting itself to push narratives directed for malicious intent. They aren't banning phone calls from China, or preventing Chinese citizens from posting on American websites. They are banning a specific filter.

What filter is that?

What they are doing is establishing the platform for a great firewall of America. What’s the difference between this and oppressive regimes blocking western sites? Who decides what’s next? You’re honestly comfortable with filtering the internet?

I think TikTok users would disagree it’s equivalent to making a phone call, or other sites. It has a specific form that fosters their desired mode of communication. I’ve not seen a specific criminal charge leveled against TikTok, so I assume they’re not doing anything illegal. So, I don’t see how this isn’t suppressing the communications of TikTok users based only on the nationality of their parent company. If they did something illegal, then use the justice system to get redress. Use existing regulatory bodies. Etc. I don’t see the need for a broad based framework for censorship. Even if you won’t agree that this isn’t that this time, it’s most certainly the foundation for it next time. Once you give up freedom of expression on the internet for any reason, you give it up for all reasons.

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