Sure, TikTok is terrible in many ways. But the hypocrisy of its critics, especially members of Congress, is almost beyond belief.
The problem with TikTok is the same one we have with countless other Internet products: They are relentless violators of our privacy and security.
Fix that, and you've fixed TikTok.
Democrats are just as bad as Republicans on this. And so is Big Journalism, which mostly just amplifies the lies.
This is a moral panic with a mercantile edge.
A collection of organizations that actually care about your privacy and security has an open letter to Congress, entitled "Coalition Urges Congress to Halt Efforts on TikTok Ban, Pass Privacy Legislation" -- https://cdt.org/insights/coalition-urges-congress-to-halt-efforts-on-tiktok-ban-pass-privacy-legislation/
Needless to say, given the lawsmakers' towering hypocrisy, they're unlikely to deign to notice the common sense solution to a problem they helped create.
Some days it's hard to be optimistic...
A Ban on TikTok Is Not the Answer The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has joined several other free speech and privacy organizations in calling for Congress to refrain from banning TikTok and to instead enact comprehensive privacy legislation because it would address many of the concerns that have motivated some to propose banning […]
@dangillmor The problem with TikTok is that it's controlled by China.
As Jaron Lanier put it the other day: "I think TikTok is dangerous and should be banned … because it’s controlled by the Chinese, and should there be difficult circumstances there are lots of horrible tactical uses it could be put to. I don’t think it’s an acceptable risk."
@hughster @dangillmor sure, but I don't think other surveillance capitalism companies are any better. They'll also abuse your data for *anyone* who pays them. That includes foreign adversaries.
We need strong data protection laws against all of this stuff.
@hughster @jamesmarshall This is true. We shouldn't pass China off as "just another face in the data collection crowd".
China attempts to gain control of other countries through the back door, buying up key economic nexus points in a country. It could be businesses, property or distribution and supply companies. For that they need intel and Social Media is a great way to get it.
I agree that data collection should be by choice. But China is a standalone because of its methods.
China is using part of its internal internet surveillance network to mine data from Western social media and provide its government agents with information on foreign targets, The Washington Post reported on Friday. Reviewing hundreds of Chinese bidding documents, contracts and company filings, the Post reported that China’s public opinion analysis software — used to detect…
@dangillmor The privacy issue is the first big problem. In the US, California has made some headway other states could follow thereby pushing Congress toward unified action.
The second is still a problem even if TikTok is the best example: no US residents' data should be kept in servers overseas. The EU's GPDR tackles this, there's no good reason the US hasn't except for Big Tech's lobbying.
@dangillmor @flargh I said this identical thing on the AppleInsider podcast and people said I was a Chinese sympathizer.
Critical thinking is dead, or dying at least.
@dangillmor yeah, yet another "base unit of propaganda isn't lies, it's emphasis" instantiation
plus who is a bigger threat, the biggest military of all time in the country you're likely sitting in (and with bases in nearly every other one), /or/ this one halfway across the world whose weapons won't even make it past taiwan even if they were fired in our direction
If you're in the US:
https://act.eff.org/action/tell-congress-stop-the-tiktok-ban
Congress is fast-tracking a bill that would effectively ban TikTok in the US, but do little for its alleged goal of protecting our private information and the collection of our data by foreign governments. Tell Congress: Instead of giving the President the power to ban entire social media platforms based on their country of origin, our representatives should focus on what matters—protecting our data no matter who is collecting it.
What really gets to me is the sheer lack of consequences to the #scams and stupud #trends.
We have people telling kids to eat tidepods, dance ohtside their cars, and run into stores and licking ice cream. Or go and steal a specifica make and model of cars and destroying people's livelihood and nothing happens.
And now I need to feel bad for those "influencers" possibly losing their "income" because #Tiktok might be banned in the #US?
Yes, there are brilliant creators on Tiktok, but many of them are already big on other platforms such as #Youtube with the long-video content.
But these #Tiktok trash accounts with 1M followers can just disappear into irrelevance.
@dangillmor Apparently some lawmakers called the app "Tic Tac" in the hearing.
We have the dumbest government.
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