TikTok Ban.

[brnbk]

Does the ban on the social media app, TikTok violate traditional U.S. and Western understandings and commitment to free speech and capitalism? 

[nanana]

59 minutes ago, brnbk said:

Does the ban on the social media app, TikTok violate traditional U.S. and Western understandings and commitment to free speech and capitalism? 

That’s what I’m worried about. 

[Erik62]

I use TT because a cousin runs her art business advertising through them. However, the suspected or potential violation of traditional U.S. & Western understanding, commitment to free speech & capitalism gives me reason enough to dump them. The same would apply to X (Twitter) if I had not already been banned. 

Any form of social media that has any, let alone strong ties, to governments of any persuasion leave me very worried & a wee bit paranoid. 

As with the separation of church & State powers, any combination that connects the state & /or church with social media on a large state or national level can only be viewed with a high degree of scepticism & an even higher level of distrust. 

PRC - Tik Tok  &  Twitter (X) - US Government. 

    On April 4, 2023, Australia BANNED TikTok from ALL federal government-owned devices over security concerns. 

29 Nov 2024 — Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X, faced new Australian laws banning social media for children & teenagers under 16 · Gaming & messaging platforms are exempt. 

Fortunately or Not, these laws are more easily legislated & implemented at both State & Federal levels, in Australia 🇦🇺, because our governments are not Stifled 🤔???🧐 by a Constitution & it's Amendments that so strictly define a person's rights. 

[topblkmale]

 

Get a VPN.

 

[hntnhole]

The tiktok rumor-mill is not of much direct importance to me.  I think the widespread dependence on these apps is obviously detrimental,; no person should live in a bubble. 

We need each other more than we think we do, and attempting to substitute virtual interaction for actual human interaction will be a dangerous and fruitless endeavor.  I don't need some algorithm to tell me what I think, and neither do any of us. 

It's a dangerous behavior to get too comfortable with that practice.  

[brnbk]

On 1/18/2025 at 1:47 AM, Erik62 said:

Any form of social media that has any, let alone strong ties, to governments of any persuasion leave me very worried & a wee bit paranoid. 

Is there really any crediable and substantial evidence that TikTok is actually sharing data with the Chinese government, since its main servers are located in the US and Singapore?

[Erik62]

7 minutes ago, brnbk said:

Is there really any crediable and substantial evidence that TikTok is actually sharing data with the Chinese government, since its main servers are located in the US and Singapore?

In this age there doesn't need to be credible & / or substantial evidence available for the sharing or misuse of personal / private information for any government to restrict or ban operations. Australia 🇦🇺, UK 🇬🇧, USA 🇺🇸, Ukraine 🇺🇦 have all, over the last 10yrs, "claimed" possession of credible evidence of techno based criminal activities by both, China & Russia. These attacks have been centred on political figures, elections, businesses that all have tremendous implications for political, defence, business, financial & social stability. 

Governments DO NOT require absolute proof to restrict (Australian politicians are barred from Tik Tok on government issued devices) or ban / block technological industries connected to foreign governments, dubious or not. 

[tallslenderguy]

8 hours ago, brnbk said:

Is there really any crediable and substantial evidence that TikTok is actually sharing data with the Chinese government, since its main servers are located in the US and Singapore?

 

Research from Rutgers University with excerpt and link to the published study at the bottom. 

"TikTok algorithms promote the Chinese government’s narratives on hot-button issues such as Tibet, Taiwan and the Uyghurs — while suppressing content critical of Beijing, a new study has found.

When users search for terms on TikTok — owned by Chinese company ByteDance — that are sensitive to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, such as “Tibet” and “Taiwan,” the results show much more content that is pro-China than content that is critical of China, researchers found.

Compared to similar searches on Instagram and YouTube, the results showed a pronounced pro-Beijing bias, according to the study, titled "The CCP's Digital Charm Offensive," by the Network Contagion Research Institute, or NCRI, at Rutgers University.

The findings, “while not definitive proof of state orchestration, present compelling and strong circumstantial evidence of TikTok’s covert content manipulation,” wrote NCRI co-founder Joel Finkelstein in the report."

[think before following links] https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/tiktok-promotes-pro-china-bias-on-tibet-taiwan-uyghurs-study-08162024102338.html

"In December 2023, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) published an initial report that found a strong possibility of content on TikTok being either amplified or suppressed based on its alignment with the interests of the Chinese Government. The report concluded with a warning: “should future research find that TikTok users exhibit attitudes and assessments of world events aligned with these information distortions, democracies will need to consider appropriate countermeasures to protect information integrity and mitigate potential real-world impacts.” These findings underscored the urgency of investigating the specific mechanisms and broader implications of potential algorithmic manipulations."

[think before following links] https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/NCRI-Report_-The-CCPs-Digital-Charm-Offensive.pdf

[brnbk]

Thank you for  sharing this very interesting study. 

China is, sadly, not a bastion of free thought and has not gone down the path of freedom both political and social, even though it has strived to create greater economic freedoms for its people. Gay people in present day communist China face more oppression than their forefathers would have under the Emperors in the 2nd century before Christ! Queer people or Eunuch as they are referred to in modern  English had more freedom and opportunities to be themselves in ancient China, unlike the present day government which cracks down on "sissy men"  —  e.g. the dictate by President XI against "effeminate behaviours" on Chinese state run TV.  Queer chinese men also called eunuchs where part of the royal family and elite class including the imperial bureaucracy and often where the most powerful group in traditional Chinese society.  I don't believe change in China is going to happens sans TikTok.  Change in Chinese attitudes both social and governmental are more likely to come through freeer exchange of ideas through apps like TikTok rather than without it. 

The study does has some major pitfalls. It is not peer reviewed, and just proves that there are fake accounts on TikTok, who push the Communist party world view.  The Study seems to have a strange accusation against TikTok in page 21, "Those who use TikTok are more likely than Instagram and Youtube, to see China as a travel destination". Looks like the authors of the study seem to think that it is morally wrong to see China as a destination worthy of Travel presumably because its 4000 or more years of civilization is not protestant christian, and the Chinese people are not considered "white" - their civilization is not worth a trip.

Was there a study to see how pro US or UK governmental views are pushed forward by apps such as Youtube or Instagram, governmental views which serve the industrial-military complex of the US establishment rather than the average American citizen or the common good of people around the world?

Edited January 27 by brnbk

[TaKinGDeePanal]

There's another reason why it should be banned - CSAM.

[Erik62]

12 hours ago, TaKinGDeePanal said:

There's another reason why it should be banned - CSAM.

CSAM - 🤔🤔?? meaning, please🙄. 

[TaKinGDeePanal]

6 hours ago, Erik62 said:

CSAM - 🤔🤔?? meaning, please🙄. 

Child Sex Abuse Material (but I’m pretty sure you already knew the answer, given the eye roll). 

Edited January 30 by TaKinGDeePanal

[Erik62]

49 minutes ago, TaKinGDeePanal said:

Child Sex Abuse Material (but I’m pretty sure you already knew the answer, given the eye roll). 

My eye roll is because I feel "stupid" for not knowing the meaning of all today's rediculous acronyms 🙄. I have said MANY times before, I have a total disconnect with anything to do with today's world. 

[PozBearWI]

2 hours ago, Erik62 said:

My eye roll is because I feel "stupid" for not knowing the meaning of all today's rediculous acronyms 🙄. I have said MANY times before, I have a total disconnect with anything to do with today's world. 

But we do have Google...