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You can still be convicted of something even if other people are doing the same thing and getting away with it. So it doesn't matter whether this practice is u

by cj 2y ago

You can still be convicted of something even if other people are doing the same thing and getting away with it. So it doesn't matter whether this practice is unique to TikTok. "What about all my competitors doing the same thing" isn't a viable defense in court.

vkou 2y ago
You can, but you shouldn't. Especially when the other people doing it are not, like, difficult to catch. Laws that are enforced very inconsistently aren't exactly the sort of thing that you want in a society with rule of law. They are exactly the sort of thing you want in a society with rule by law, though...
- lesuorac 2y ago
  Maybe if they actually named some American competitors there'd be an actual argument. As it states, it's just a case of whataboutism. Various states have sued various companies in the past so we're still in a rule of law situation.
- octopoc 2y ago
  You’re arguing against establishing an important precedent that can be used against other social networks.
  - vkou 2y ago
    I'd love for a precedent to be established, but I have zero confidence that it will actually be used for anything that doesn't come from China. Given it's very spotty track record, I have very little confidence that the US is actually a country where nobody is above the law. I'd be very pleasantly surprised if this actually goes the other way, but I would not bet on it. The entire discourse so far about TikTok has been about how it's bad because it's foreign media, not about a principled approach to why it and other things like it are bad. What makes you think it'll turn around, and extend to other social media?
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      > have zero confidence that it will actually be used for anything that doesn't come from China Despite this case using the case filed last year against Instagram as precedent? (Tactically speaking, as it hasn’t been decided yet.)
      - vkou 2y ago
        I wasn't aware of that. We can wait and see about the reasoning used in the two cases once they conclude.
bdcravens 2y ago
The point isn't to argue for TikTok, or anyone else's, defense. It's to argue the motivation and transparency of those bringing the action. "Should this lawsuit succeed, would that open up American companies to the same claims?"

by cj 2y ago

vkou 2y ago

You can, but you shouldn't. Especially when the other people doing it are not, like, difficult to catch. Laws that are enforced very inconsistently aren't exactly the sort of thing that you want in a society with rule of law. They are exactly the sort of thing you want in a society with rule by law, though...

lesuorac 2y ago
Maybe if they actually named some American competitors there'd be an actual argument. As it states, it's just a case of whataboutism. Various states have sued various companies in the past so we're still in a rule of law situation.
octopoc 2y ago
You’re arguing against establishing an important precedent that can be used against other social networks.
- vkou 2y ago
  I'd love for a precedent to be established, but I have zero confidence that it will actually be used for anything that doesn't come from China. Given it's very spotty track record, I have very little confidence that the US is actually a country where nobody is above the law. I'd be very pleasantly surprised if this actually goes the other way, but I would not bet on it. The entire discourse so far about TikTok has been about how it's bad because it's foreign media, not about a principled approach to why it and other things like it are bad. What makes you think it'll turn around, and extend to other social media?
  - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
    > have zero confidence that it will actually be used for anything that doesn't come from China Despite this case using the case filed last year against Instagram as precedent? (Tactically speaking, as it hasn’t been decided yet.)
    - vkou 2y ago
      I wasn't aware of that. We can wait and see about the reasoning used in the two cases once they conclude.

bdcravens 2y ago

The point isn't to argue for TikTok, or anyone else's, defense. It's to argue the motivation and transparency of those bringing the action. "Should this lawsuit succeed, would that open up American companies to the same claims?"