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Comment by yellow_lead | Hacker News Reader

> The algorithm used in the US was apparently banned in China for being too addictive.

Source? I could only find this.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/03/08/1069527/china-ti...

> That same year, Douyin imposed a 40-minute daily limit for users under 14. Last year, Chinese regulators introduced a rule that would limit children under age 18 to two hours of smartphone screen time each day.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/tiktok-china/story?id=108111...

That’s not at all the same as banning the algorithm.

Maybe the "community notes" model isn't so bad after all

It’s not the same, no. I provided the link because it’s what I assume the OP is referring to.

Limiting use to 40 minutes is not a ban but it still shows a view that extended exposure to it is harmful. To turn it on its head, if more than 40 minutes is viewed harmful for Chinese youth, why not American?

You know they did that with video games too.. Should we do that here?

https://apnews.com/article/gaming-business-children-00db669d...

It's a clear sign the international version of TikTok, because of it's addictiveness and content, would never be allowed for a single minute in China by the people that know the most about what it is, and what is does.

What more do you need to know?

If it was a legal requirement for Chinese apps in China, and this is the path for societal heath then why not pass that law for all social apps in the US?

Blanket content bans are the stuff of dictatorships, but restricting access to demographics that could be most harmed by it (children for example) is a good idea, and I wish the US would look into it.

That limit is independent of the used algorithm.

How would you know? If you have only a certain time-window, you may need another kind of algorithm to retain ̶a̶d̶d̶i̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n interest day-over-day.

I mean the limit is for all social media, the algorithm doesn’t matter.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/tiktok-china/story?id=108111...

Anecdotally, I have heard from people who lived in China at the time that there was a significant shift in content a few years back.

The whole country had a shift though, they implemented gaming and entertainment regulations and video sites like bilibili went from $153 to a low of $8 a share.

China didn't go after TikTok _alone_ - they reportedly went after anything deemed too addictive, including limiting the time spent on games. It was very clearly aimed towards reducing digital addiction (which is something us in the West still try to ignore as an epidemic)

> China didn't go after TikTok _alone_

Because it was never there. Bytedance never launched TikTok in China.

it's called Douyin. It's the same product, the same way a Mexican Coke is the same thing as an American Coke, and both are produced by the same company (Coca Cola).

Mexican Coke is different though. It doesn't use HFCS.

Precisely. Like TikTok and Douyin.

Except your analogy breaks as they are not the same product.

Except they are

No, buddy, they're not. If two products have the same name but different ingredients, they are categorically not the same product.

You chose a bad analogy, that's all.

Yes it does. The US product called Mexican Coke doesn't, but Coke in Mexico does.

It would be more like Coke was Mexican owned and HFCS was outlawed in Mexico. Then Mexican Coke used sugar and the Coke they exported to America used HFCS. And America said, hey, you're not consuming the same Coke you send here: we're going to ban you if you don't sell to us and our plan is to keep making HFCS Coke once we buy you. You were also hurting Pepsi (Facebook/Twitter), who also only plan on ever using HFCS.

> it's called Douyin. It's the same product

It’s a similar product. We don’t have any server-side code so we don’t know.

did you read the rest of the sentence or

The analogy to Coca Cola? Let me make another comparison: the 737 Max with one AoA sensor was made by the same company that only sold the one with two in America.

The entire app is banned. They use a different one called Douyin.

I dont think tiktok app is banned because of algorithm, because bytedance created and maintains both Doyin and Tiktok.

I think it is form of compartmentalizing Internet and social networks, to keep Chinese internet and social media separate from the US.

the red book app, where tiktok refugees are flocking to right now, also want to introduce geofence and compartmentalize Chinese users and US users separately

Tiktok is banned completely in China because it doesn't not have the agressive filtering and CPP propaganda in place to operate in China. The CPP can not allow Chineze citizens to engage in an open exchange of ideas with eachother or with the citizens of other free nations, for obvious reasons.

>because it doesn't not have the agressive filtering and CPP propaganda in place to operate in China

Do you believe that all Chinese media is part of a propaganda machine?

Do you believe the same of American or French media?

Yes. No.

You cannot operate a TV channel, a radio station or a newspaper in China without running everything through CCP first for approval. You won't find a single news report critical of the CCP because of this.

Every social media app or website in China is required to ask for your real name and ID number, and implement any censorship requested by the party. If you post something that rubs the government the wrong way, your identity is readily available.

I don't believe this level of content control, censorship and user prosecution is there for all American media. And if it were, you are allowed to set up your own channel or social media app in America to be the exception.

>Every social media app or website in China is required to ask for your real name and ID number, and implement any censorship requested by the party. If you post something that rubs the government the wrong way, your identity is readily available.

I didn't know this. Do you have any reading on the subject you can recommend?

I don't have anything handy, but a quick search turned these up.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_real-name_system_in_C...

- https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/01/10/1086366/china-so...

- https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202310/31/WS6541068aa3109068...

Yes. No.

(Although that No is getting a bit blurry with US social media bending over for commander cheeto)

You are making a distinction without a difference. China knows TikTok is harmful, which is why it allows it's export and bans domestic consumption. Think of it like a drug.

It’s not just about controlling content but also about controlling how users interact across borders

https://www.deseret.com/2022/11/24/23467181/difference-betwe...

"It’s almost like they recognize that technology is influencing kids’ development, and they make their domestic version a spinach version of TikTok, while they ship the opium version to the rest of the world,”

His comment is obvious propaganda

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