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This completely ignores propaganda concerns. Having a prominent media platform under the control of a hostile government is a serious threat. If Nazi Germany or
by graeme 3y ago
This completely ignores propaganda concerns. Having a prominent media platform under the control of a hostile government is a serious threat. If Nazi Germany or the USSR had gotten control of a large media conglomerate you'd expect a reaction.
Divesting Tiktok from China isn't a ban, and it's disingenuous to frame it as such while also ignoring the major problem with such control.
- cbsmith 3y agoOwnership isn't the only way to control a social media platform. It is, admittedly, a simpler way.
- mordae 3y agoThis. US is readying to defend Taiwan. Government is obviously going to make sure no significant channels exist to go around its own propaganda. Especially if the channel has ties to China.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- justrealist 3y agoDon't try to make it a "both sides" issue. It's not.
- mordae 3y agoI am not. But it's still something any reasonable state would do when facing the possibility of war.
- GeoAtreides 3y agoDon't try to reduce a complex issue to a thought stopping cliche. (I should obviously take my own advice and add something more substantial to this comment, but the idea that are multiple sides in an war, with different goals, tactics, and with different stakes, is so trivial and self-evident that I'm feeling very silly commenting on it)
- christkv 3y agoIt’s a good thing western social media owned companies operate without any barriers in China /s our openness weaponized against us
- whythre 3y agoI don’t know why you are being downvoted. I think the closest parallel is Radio Free Asia, and that’s an irrelevant relic compared to TikTok.
- jimbob45 3y agoHaving a prominent media platform under the control of a hostile government is a serious threat. Then China was right to ban Google, Facebook, and Reddit? This seems like a war where no one wins. Why not simply ensure platforms are open, neutral, and fair for everyone? (e.g. not reddit)
- alephnerd 3y agoClearly in China's case they were. If China could use protective tariffs against American firms and undercut American production, there's no reason to keep playing a morally pure yet essentially meaningless stance.
- animal_spirits 3y agoI think there is an asymmetry here. The CCP has much greater control over TikTok than The US Federal govt. has over Google, Facebook, and Reddit. American tech giants regularly fight against the US govt. and sometimes win. AFAIK, this happens less in CCP controlled China. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple–FBI_encryption_dispute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple–FBI_encryption_dispute [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp._v._United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp._v._United_Stat...
- empath-nirvana 3y ago> Then China was right to ban Google, Facebook, and Reddit? From a strictly pragmatic, real-politik point of view, yes. From my personal point of view, it would be preferable if the US and China were on friendlier terms and were not military and economic adversaries, so that this wasn't a concern. The US isn't going to care if a French or German or UK company owned a social media company here.
- CommanderData 3y agoNazi content or serious threats will be used to control legitimate content. Israel's recent genocide was documented largely through Tiktok with the help of the algorithm. I can imagine this annoyed Israel quite some and the US, I envisage the algorithm being altered to stop this if the it comes under US control, like has been done on Instagram and Facebook. Alot of footage would not have made it out if it wasn't for Tiktok.
- bjourne 3y ago... Is a "serious threat" to whom? To the dozen or so American billionaires - Zuckerberg, Musk, Murdoch, Bloomberg, Bezos, Iger, etc. - who control a large fraction of the world's media or to the American people?
- 2devnull 3y agoTo citizens. Citizens are important in America.