Comment by ergonaught
16 days ago
US citizens do not want this.
Every news article descending into tangents on any other point than that is part of why we can't have nice things.
The whole country has turned into some sort of lower primate improv troupe where whatever stupid thing comes up gets a "Yes and let's" diversion instead of an adult in the room standing up and cutting the crap.
We certainly _do_ want this. I think the fact that we let a foreign company own a social media platform in the first place is preposterous. As others have said, we would never let the CCP own a TV broadcast, why should we let china own a major social media platform? That's just absurd.
“We” do not want surveillance propaganda targeted towards children. The US government does not want Chinese surveillance propaganda targeted toward children. They’re perfectly happy when it’s done on US soil under US jurisdiction.
If we don't want this then we simply won't make an account on those platforms...
YOU want this ban and you don't like that OTHER PEOPLE like TikTok. Clearly you don't have a TikTok account and that's not enough. You want to make sure no one else is allowed to have a TikTok account either
Instead of spreading the message about possible harms you'd rather ban other people's abilities
For most of the world, your platforms are already foreign-owned.
You do realize that in vast majority of all countries, all major social media platforms are owned by foreign companies?
There seems to be a real risk of propaganda on Tiktok, but foreign ownership alone isn't a sound reason for a ban.
> foreign ownership alone isn't a sound reason for a ban
You're right -- but foreign ownership by a repressive regime with undemocratic ideals certainly is. For example, I don't think anyone would be too concerned if a European country was the one that founded & owned TikTok.
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Or should it be reason enough. The EU should ban Meta as well, no question. This foreign propaganda, risking mental health in teenagers and all that stuff is US propaganda shoved down our eyes.
There are foreign-controlled TV networks in the US. Not over-the-air, but that's probably due to them being niche more than anything.
Part of it is almost certainly due to the FCC controlling licenses for what is broadcast over the air.
I watch like 25 hours of TikTok a week. I absolutely love it.
I certainly _do_not_ want this.
There's a Kremlin radio station in Missouri.
> US citizens do not want this
Ha ha, I guess you are discovering, many many people do want this.
No one who actually uses it or understands it wants this. This is like vegans banning steak.
It's like the non-addicts banning heroin. You don't have to be a Tik Tok user to understand that it's bad for it to be PRC-controlled!
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You're getting it. It is like vegans banning steak!
> "lower primate improv troupe"
> "No one who actually uses it or understands it wants this."
"Everyone's generalizations are stupid, except mine."
The users for sure don't want this. Among non-users, I'd say there's a sizable difference (let's say 50/50)...
Many things aren't that democratic when you look at it like that!
US citizens elected representatives to make laws for them. Even more so, this is a bipartisan law.
Tiktok US users of voting age are already accounted for in that process, they don't get extra sway just because they use the app.
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Of course the users don’t want it. Asking a fanbase if the thing they are a fan of should be banned and ignoring all other groups doesn’t make much sense. Nothing would be banned.
Pew has it at 32–28 in support of the ban[0]. I think that's pretty low for a bipartisan effort where the opposition hasn't really had a chance to air it's case.
[0] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/05/support-f...
I'm for the ban chiefly on the grounds of economic fairness in access to markets. China doesn't allow access to any US social media products. We should only open our doors to Chinese companies conditioned on reciprocation.
I am a US Citizen and I 100% want this. I think this is far too small a step; I think all social media should be banned.
But this isn't about banning social media, it's about banning dissent.
Would you feel the same way if the US government banned all mainstream media organizations except the ones you ideologically oppose?
> it's about banning dissent
On the contrary, I think it is about banning a propaganda and social engineering vector that is under the thumb of an adversarial foreign government. That, for me, is enough of a reason to ban it and justify it under our constitution.
The fact that I am in favor of banning all social media should tell you that it is not ideological, but rather that I think social media is extremely addictive, and has huge negative externalities.
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What criteria define social media that's ban-worthy for you? Does it require the combination of user-generated content and a personalized algorithmic feed which characterizes modern corporate social media, or do you extend it to a broader range of ways people can interact over the internet?
I'm not a lawyer, and therefore I am not qualified to make that kind of definition.
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I’m a us citizen and I do want this. Speak for yourself. China bans us social media. Us should ban Chinese social media.
Where is that whataboutism coming from. What has the one to do with the other? Do you want a great Firewall for America? Is that what this is about?
The Senator you voted for this probably voted for this so yes, America does want this.
Those in leadership being against a meaningful percentage (about 30%) of those under their care is common.
Well let's not talk in abstract phrases, who did YOU vote for, and did you not find it probable that they would support such actions?
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I think part of the problem is everyone thinks they are the "adult in the room" and everyone else is the "primates". I agree policy discussions are a bit of a farce though (in a sorta funny twist places like TikTok are responsible for that since the engagement metrics have a tendency to promote nonsense and lies)
Hey, the ADL president is a US citizen, and he said "we really have a TikTok problem."
America has an Israel problem.
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US citizens most definitely want this.
Some, sure, highly unlikely a majority does if you look at how many Americans use TikTok
How many of those people voted? The young people who don't vote don't want this and the old people who do vote do want this. The outcome is predictable.
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The ones that use the app don't want this. The ones that don't use it ... don't care.
Naturally either you don't want it. or you don't care.
My opinion on this has not changed since Trump tried to ban TikTok in his first term [0]: if the USA wants to ban TikTok for XYZ reason, they need to pass a general purpose law in Congress that applies equally to all foreign-owned companies.
Singling out TikTok without a universal principle or law leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, and the US gov. will just be playing whack-a-mole with whatever the TikTok successor is.
[0]: https://www.npr.org/2020/12/07/944039053/u-s-judge-halts-tru...
Shockingly, given how often congress shirks its duty these days, they did write such a law:
https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/hr7520/BILLS-118hr7520eh....
We all live in a bubble that consists of the people and things we interact with. People in your bubble not wanting this doesn't mean other people outside of your bubble don't.