Great. I hope they torpedo that thing out of spite and no one gets to use the stupid e-heroin algorithm.
If I want Chinese propaganda, I should have a right to consume it. There's nothing that TikTok does that Instagram or even YouTube isn't trying to replicate .
I think this is really just a case of protectionism. Now you can make the argument that China engages in the same protectionism and if they're not letting us spread propaganda over there, we shouldn't let them do the same here .
But I used to believe that a fundamental trait of American speech was freedom. I don't care if TikTok is literally 24/7 Pro Chinese propaganda. Who was the government to tell me I don't have a right to consume that.
This is coming at it from a different angle (kids' mental health), but it's still a move in the right direction:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/17/media/surgeon-general-social-...
It doesn't restrict anybody's freedom, but people who didn't give it much thought before may start putting social media into the "questionable" bucket, and those who were already wary may start putting it into the "bad" bucket. At that point it will be much easier to have a real conversation about harms associated with social media. But if that effort goes anywhere, it will take a long time.
There's no way to argue that Facebook and Instagram are healthy.
The notion that China is going to run pysops via TikTok also falls flat, Facebook has already been responsible for human right violations in multiple countries. Why don't we fix our own propaganda factories first .
The only thing that I think would be okay would be a warning label on these apps, and this should go for all social media.
"Please be advised the views expressed by users on these apps may not be authentic, and are subject to influence by various parties which may not have your best interest at heart."
But at the end of the day, if you want to read or consume propaganda or misinformation you should have a right to.
Otherwise we're going down a slippery slope, so first it's because TikTok is a Chinese owned company. What's next, are we going to shut down an app because C level employees have close relationships with officials in governments we don't like ?
If you have a Russian uncle you can't be the CTO of Facebook?
What ByteDance should not be able to do is profiteering and monetising while aiding and abetting pro-Chinese propaganda on their platform.
The restrictions are on platform providers and TikTok in the form of regulations.
I trust the government of the United States far more than I trust the government of China. Ban the hell out of this idiotic app. It will not only be good for national security but also for the national psyche.