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Comment by w0m | Hacker News Reader

> 1) Influence- TikTok gives the CCP significant direct influence over the views of Americans.

There is no credible argument that the CCP doesn't directly control the alg as it's actively being used for just that in tawain/etc.

Does the US really want a (hostile?) foreign govt to have clear direct access to influence 170m americans, an entire generation - completely unfettered? Incredible national security implications. Bot farms can influence X/Meta/etc, but they can be at least be fought. TikTok itself is the influence engine as currently constructed.

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> Does the US really want a (hostile?) foreign govt to have clear direct access to [...] americans

Apparently, American users want this? Approximately 700k users have joined RedNote, a Chinese platform. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire for Americans.

For perspective on the the root issue, that number seems incredibly high, and it's still only ~.5% of estimated active American TikTok users.

Well yes, people are addicted to this content so of course they'll seek out alternatives. People want to be distracted by pretty pictures and funny stories and someone telling them their opinions are right

700k rounds to zero. YouTube has ~240 million US accounts, Instagram has ~170 million.

Every Android owner automatically has a YT account, so that doesn't count to much.

> Apparently, American users want this? Approximately 700k users have joined RedNote, a Chinese platform. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire for Americans.

There are 335 million Americans, and a lot of them are stupid and/or foolish.

> Does the US really want a (hostile?) foreign govt to have clear direct access to influence 170m americans, an entire generation - completely unfettered?

As the SCOTUS said itself:

“At the heart of the First Amendment lies the principle that each person should decide for himself or herself the ideas and beliefs deserving of expression, consideration, and adherence.” Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC

Functionally; as TikTok is a known/controlled mouthpiece for the CCP - it's infringing the first amendment rights of the foreign govt within US borders?

1. source?

2. A core principle of the constitution is that those rights apply to noncitizens as well as citizens. They are human rights, not citizen rights. It's significantly more ridiculous for corporations to have free speech than a government. They don't have less of a right to free speech because we don't like them.

Extend this line of argument a little further and it ends with US citizens not being able to freely access information that is published elsewhere in the world.

You may not like TikTok, but this line of argumentation also would allow the government to prevent US citizens from e.g. reading Iranian newspapers or researching Chinese media. The polarizing nature of TikTok obscures the fact that US users are losing freedom of access to information in this decision.

> US citizens not being able to freely access information that is published elsewhere in the world

there is a difference between 'US Citizen having access to information' and 'Hostile Foreign Govt having Direct Push Access for news to ~70% of a generation of Americans as they go from puberty to voting age'. US isn't discussing a Great Firewall, the information will still be available, it just won't be as easy for a generation to be indoctrinated (well, by a foreign govt instead of our own* at least. Theoretically our govt has our interests at heart more than 'hostile foreign power' - but that's a different fight we need to have)

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