5 ms·

Seems like a good way to lose young voters. How hard would it be to spin-off TikTok USA into a separate entity?

reaperducer 4y ago
Seems like a good way to lose young voters. Anyone aggrieved by this would move on to the next social fad and forget that TikTok even exists as quickly as they forgot #kony2012 three months later. And my guess is that they're not exactly enthusiastic participants in the electoral system anyway.
- jedberg 4y ago
  > And my guess is that they're not exactly enthusiastic participants in the electoral system anyway. Gen Z voters were the driving force giving the Democrats the best midterm results in decades.
  - reaperducer 4y ago
    Are Gen Z's TikTok users? I thought that was mostly for Millennials and more recently, Boomers.
    - kelseyfrog 4y ago
      Yes. > Snapchat (96%) , TikTok( 91%), Youtube (87%), and Instagram (83%) are the top three social media platforms used by Gen Z, according to a new study done by National Research Group. For comparison banning TikTok would have a wider impact on Gen Z than banning them from YouTube. https://www.renolon.com/gen-z-and-social-media/ https://www.renolon.com/gen-z-and-social-media/
  - KerrAvon 4y ago
    Do we actually know that for sure now? It would be hugely newsworthy if young voters finally actually showed up in large numbers. People have made this claim ever since Obama's first term and it's usually not actually panned out in the data. (edited to add: I don't support banning TikTok. This is actually a free speech issue. I didn't like it when Trump did it by executive fiat and I don't like it now. If the content there is truly that corrosive, implement punitive measures short of a full ban. The bar has to be much higher than "I don't like it" for the government to fully censor something.)
jimbob45 4y ago
Why spin it off? We already have a clone in the form of Instagram Reels. Also banning TikTok might set off a Cold War of banning each other’s apps and I have to think we would lose more in that scenario.
- bioemerl 4y ago
  We are already in that cold war. We've just been too foolish to bite back when it comes to China.
- countvonbalzac 4y ago
  If that's true, then didn't the cold war of banning each other's apps start when China banned youtube, facebook, instagram, google, twitter, whatsapp, snapchat, amazon, messenger, and twitch, just to name a few?
  - KaoruAoiShiho 4y ago
    Google and FB famously pulled out, if they didn't they would still be there. It's the US that is stopping google, etc from operating there, remember project dragonfly that the prevented from going into china? Amazon is doing decently there currently.
    - mannerheim 4y ago
      Multiple lies. Google was banned after they decided to stop censoring searches. Facebook was banned after they refused to provide the government the identities of protestors in Urumqi. Google cancelled Dragonfly after outcry from their employees.
      - KaoruAoiShiho 4y ago
        What? How are they lies, they were operating fine until they decided to not follow the laws one day. That was their prerogative and not the CCP deciding to block them from the market. Unless you can point to laws tiktok is violating it's not a remotely comparable situation. The way that Chinese companies work they explicitly create distinct entities that can meet the requirements of any territories that they operate in.
uoaei 4y ago
This is one of the more egregious examples of the complete infantilization of Gen Z human beings by older generations. No, the kids will not throw a temper tantrum and vote for $THE_OTHER_GUY because you blocked their access to an app. The kids, in fact, stand for more than just politics-as-sports.
- zwieback 4y ago
  Wow - jumping to a lot of conclusions! My only point is that an old guy attacking the most popular platform used by millions of users as their primary entertainment and self-expression will have some repercussions. $THE_OTHER_GUY will build a whole campaign around a hamfisted approach and not just for GenZ.
  - uoaei 4y ago
    Political predictions should be more than idle fictions.

Seems like a good way to lose young voters. Anyone aggrieved by this would move on to the next social fad and forget that TikTok even exists as quickly as they forgot #kony2012 three months later. And my guess is that they're not exactly enthusiastic participants in the electoral system anyway.

jedberg 4y ago
> And my guess is that they're not exactly enthusiastic participants in the electoral system anyway. Gen Z voters were the driving force giving the Democrats the best midterm results in decades.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  Are Gen Z's TikTok users? I thought that was mostly for Millennials and more recently, Boomers.
  - kelseyfrog 4y ago
    Yes. > Snapchat (96%) , TikTok( 91%), Youtube (87%), and Instagram (83%) are the top three social media platforms used by Gen Z, according to a new study done by National Research Group. For comparison banning TikTok would have a wider impact on Gen Z than banning them from YouTube. https://www.renolon.com/gen-z-and-social-media/ https://www.renolon.com/gen-z-and-social-media/
- KerrAvon 4y ago
  Do we actually know that for sure now? It would be hugely newsworthy if young voters finally actually showed up in large numbers. People have made this claim ever since Obama's first term and it's usually not actually panned out in the data. (edited to add: I don't support banning TikTok. This is actually a free speech issue. I didn't like it when Trump did it by executive fiat and I don't like it now. If the content there is truly that corrosive, implement punitive measures short of a full ban. The bar has to be much higher than "I don't like it" for the government to fully censor something.)

jimbob45 4y ago

Why spin it off? We already have a clone in the form of Instagram Reels. Also banning TikTok might set off a Cold War of banning each other’s apps and I have to think we would lose more in that scenario.

bioemerl 4y ago
We are already in that cold war. We've just been too foolish to bite back when it comes to China.
countvonbalzac 4y ago
If that's true, then didn't the cold war of banning each other's apps start when China banned youtube, facebook, instagram, google, twitter, whatsapp, snapchat, amazon, messenger, and twitch, just to name a few?
- KaoruAoiShiho 4y ago
  Google and FB famously pulled out, if they didn't they would still be there. It's the US that is stopping google, etc from operating there, remember project dragonfly that the prevented from going into china? Amazon is doing decently there currently.
  - mannerheim 4y ago
    Multiple lies. Google was banned after they decided to stop censoring searches. Facebook was banned after they refused to provide the government the identities of protestors in Urumqi. Google cancelled Dragonfly after outcry from their employees.
    - KaoruAoiShiho 4y ago
      What? How are they lies, they were operating fine until they decided to not follow the laws one day. That was their prerogative and not the CCP deciding to block them from the market. Unless you can point to laws tiktok is violating it's not a remotely comparable situation. The way that Chinese companies work they explicitly create distinct entities that can meet the requirements of any territories that they operate in.

uoaei 4y ago

This is one of the more egregious examples of the complete infantilization of Gen Z human beings by older generations. No, the kids will not throw a temper tantrum and vote for $THE_OTHER_GUY because you blocked their access to an app. The kids, in fact, stand for more than just politics-as-sports.

zwieback 4y ago
Wow - jumping to a lot of conclusions! My only point is that an old guy attacking the most popular platform used by millions of users as their primary entertainment and self-expression will have some repercussions. $THE_OTHER_GUY will build a whole campaign around a hamfisted approach and not just for GenZ.
- uoaei 4y ago
  Political predictions should be more than idle fictions.