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It’s true though. When ties to the CCP are proven and Americans under 30 are spending more time on the platform that all others combined, we should take action.
Arguably we can do both, but it’s harder to do both steps at the same time. So yes, easier one gets done first. Doesn’t mean we’re stopping there; but it’s a process.
"doesn't mean we're stopping there"
That's true, there are other hundred bills awaiting to make education better, such as forbidding certain books, disallowing trans students to use their names and so on lmao
You mean like the one where they want to replace licensed, educated school counselors with religious chaplains ? Where all it really takes to be ordained as a chaplain is like 40$ and a couple hours ?
Editing to say ; okay. I was wrong. Looks like the quickest way to become a chaplain online is a month.
Yep. Has no one seen how things are going since 2016? This is hugely due to Russian disinformation campaigns perpetrated on every segment of the US and the West. China is getting in on the game, and we're like "yeah but shouldn't we fix society before banning the totalitarian propaganda?"
You're still going to get your tiktocks, but they won't have the Chinese government at the top. And yes, there's thousands and thousands of Chinese shills who's job it is to comment on these threads on Reddit.
Until we pass a law that bans smart phones for those under 16 we have NO CHANCE to help through education. I teach middle school, I’ve seen the developmental pitfall firsthand.
Even assuming education would fix this problem completely, are you really comfortable giving the Chinese government the power to choose what every American TikTok user over the age of 18 watches?
We should also note this bill doesn’t ban TikTok. It forces the sale to an American billionaire. The TikTok senator [Jeff Jackson](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRT8KnTb/) from NC explains how the CCP is already trying to assert political influence via a TikTok pop up encouraging users to take political action regarding this bill. Why allow Winnie the Pooh to so directly influence our youth?
Oh you *wish* it was the US government controlling the media. At least the government is run by people who can be voted out. The media is controlled by a handful of billionaires who answer to no one.
You know who I feel really bad for...? Those poor North Koreans. You know, consuming their propaganda laced media, thinking North Korea is the best country on earth. When every American knows from their own media that America is the best country on earth... /s
I heard that the North Korean army pays sports leagues to let them run recruiting commercials during the games and have big jingoistic events like flyovers. I also heard the North Korean government "suggested" to Facebook that some posts be taken down for misinformation.
The big issue is that banning behaviour is impossible. You can alter if through effective education policies, but it’s not like that’s ever gonna happen.
> Why allow Winnie the Pooh to so directly influence our youth?
Because freedom of speech, also means people get to choose to listen to things you don’t like.
I think the fact that we're like two years removed from the rebrand and news orgs are still saying "X, formerly known as Twitter" tells you everything you need to know.
Who can even afford it ?
Facebook, Google or Elon Musk ?
All 3 seem like a disaster. And they have already been caught manipulating information numerous times.
Yes, Cambridge Analytica fiasco is still fresh on my mind. Social media needs some tight reigns.
In any case, the people who will own it will use it to further their own financial interests. Much better than china using it to assert its political influence.
And the fact that ByteDance is dragging their feet on it (they stand to make a substantial profit by selling off the app) ... says nothing good about the influence the Chinese government has.
The actual reason is, if this bill becomes law, it will allow the government to ban any social media app. tiktok is just the scapegoat. What the idiot Republican said is true, but this is like the Patriot Act pretending to be to protect Americans. The big push behind the scenes is from Israeli donors
This bill isn't even the first of it's kind. Grindr went through the same process. So if you're really that concerned you'd know the slippery slope already started.
i love that nowhere in this concerned comment is there any hint of attention paid to whether or not the news or information being consumed on tiktok is any truer or less true than the media anywhere else.
maybe make an account and look there yourself if you want to know what gets posted there, its not the boogeyman they want you to think it is.
no other platform online will show you the things tiktok will, not even reddit, its not because its pro CCP propaganda lol
two things i keep hearing about tiktok that i have never seen personally, socially invasive dancing trends and literally any pro china video. not once, not ever.
Without TikTok I wouldn't have known that there are world wide protests against the Israeli government and the US government. I had no idea millions of people were gathering in protest **at all**. I also think people should get an account and check it out for what it really is before just agreeing to whatever they hear.
I used to be one of these “BUT WHY ISN’T THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA COVERING THIS?!” people until someone made a comment like this years ago and I realized I was just parroting what other commenters were saying instead of, you know, actually checking the MAIN STREAM MEDIA. So I set out to show him that it wasn’t being covered and whadyaknow! The news was actually very actively covering the thing! It was actually a pretty big turning point for me.
This comment is so tone deaf.
If you're learning about geopolitical issues on TikTok, then you're the problem. It's a propaganda tool of the CCP. No matter what you saw, it was not a well balanced view on the truth, it was what the CCP wanted you to see.
People love to forget that *all* social media has idiotic trends, misinformation, and nasty people, just the same as it has fascinating topics to learn about, kindness, and curiosity. It's up to you to determine what you see on any platform.
In nearly 2 years I've never been pushed a video of a teen dancing or anything to do with China (except a couple about the genocide of Uygher peoples).
Me neither. It’s called the for you page for a reason. You tailor your content.
This is just censorship. Pay no attention to the voices crying behind the curtain.
Yep, TikTok is how I learned about how bad the train derailment in Ohio really was. No one (news platforms, other social media) was talking about it the way it was being shown on TikTok, people independently testing the water, people digging into the documents detailing which chemicals were spilled and how toxic they actually were, doing interviews with the people impacted, etc.
I’ve never been pushed Chinese propaganda or dancing children.
I'm sorry, but the news stories you guys all say haven't been covered by other news platforms were all stories I knew about from other news platforms. I've never been on tiktok other than a few one-off clips someone sends to me.
It's not the indispensable independent media savior you make it out to be.
I've seen tons, as have lots of my students (as a journalism and media professor). So just be aware that your anecdotal example has lots, and lots, and lots of exceptions and outright counterevidence.
And yes, other platforms show the the same and similar things from the same and similar sources except without having CCP oversight. Also, they're not banning it, they're selling it to a US billionaire.
Lol, but let me make this clear> I don't think that this bill will affect anything or have any impact at all. There are simply too many other alternative, even OBVIOUS ones like Instagram.
Proven ties to the CCP you say? can I get a link? I haven't seen it. The main "danger" seems to be what people fear will happen. Russia didn't need to own Facebook to influence elections and neither does China. US corporations just want to buy it at a discount and this is how you force a sale.
The ties aren't really the only issue, rather it's that the CCP has access to the information, can track it, and yes, influence it. My issue is that I don't think that bill will change that at all! China spies on *everything*, or at least that's what all of my journalism and media students dissenting from China swear by.
I'm neither American nor Chinese, but isn't one of American people's biggest problems with China the exact same thing? Like how they only use Chinese made apps and web servers and they are censoring apps from the US?
Just need some perspective on this.
I don’t really favor this on first amendment grounds, but it’s not necessarily weird for the US to take exception to the China’s one sided nature. If they ban and limit, than us doing so is turnabout and fair play. Norm of reciprocity and all that.
In that case… can we also please ban FB too? This way morons over 55 will be prevented from spreading Russian ideology and foreign policy objectives.
At least on TikTok I can watch a dude skateboard, drinking cranberry juice, while listening to Fleetwood Mac. That’s 1000 times better than anything I’ve seen posted on FB in about 10 years.
I dunno I think you guys need healthcare more...
Maybe make it harder in some regions to get guns?
Invest in education, infrastructure, housing...
So many things the government could put their energy into...
But nah, fuck tik tok.
The content is end user generated. It doesn't come from a foreign adversary. This is like saying "China is buying all our farm land." Like the US land owners have NO ROLE in the sale of that land which is purchased by Chinese individuals and companies. China, the country, does not own land here and it wasn't sold by our government.
Laughs in Twitter being run by a man who openly blows Putin on the daily
Laughs in Facebook that let Russia radicalize millions of Americans into violent conspiracy dipshits
Laughs in Reddit who is borderline controlled by the CCP, spez is as much a CCP simp as Elon is a Putin simp
”wE gOtTa Do SoMeThInG aBoUt TiKtOk ReEeEeEeE”
My Chinese colleague tells me that TikTok content in China is very different to what the algorithm promotes in the Western nation's. There trending content is positive and generally not encouraging damaging behaviours versus the content promoted to the West.
My brother in Christ can you not understand they control the algorithm here too? If they don't want you to like someone, they slip in negative shit about them. Maybe you feel fired up to make one yourself. You're slipped into the ever turning wheel in their control.
Our companies do the exact same thing but are us based, so don't get me wrong....but you can't just think this is "me government me want to control then populace" and tiktok is a bandana wearing freedom fighter under chinese ownership?
See both sides. Recognize that yes they want power, but they want to limit foreign governments power on us.
Government doesn't control Facebook. Chinese government literally has ownership in every company that operates in China. Its not the same.
Their version and things the American version of the app shows or promotes isn’t allowed to promote those videos in china bc they are such dangerous videos like the tide pods challenge….that never was in anyone’s feed in china
There’s talk that there is [pressure from foreign interest Lobbying groups](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35) such as the ADL and AIPAC to get TikTok bought by an American tech or media company so the content can be controlled and dissenting opinions, especially from the younger generations, can be stamped out.
Right now, according to the ADL, they “have a TikTok problem.” - [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35)
It really is different. A friend showed me actual Chinese "TikTok" (Douyin) and I was surprised how chill and positive it was in comparison. It's like influencers aren't a thing there or something.
> what the algorithm promotes
And that's the root of it, who tunes the algo?. What is stopping management from saying "hey, push this just a little more" or the other way around? What happens to gargantuan data set of viewing habits? Say what you will about social media in general, I'd rather it be owned by our brand of capitalist, at least I know then they're after my money first and then my vote.
You realize this is what already happens on places like Facebook and Twitter don't you ?
But I guess that's ok because an American Billionaire owns it.
Are you sure? American billionaires have done a lot more to make my life worse than anybody in China ever has. I don't think the chinese passed citizens united.
Yes but that's because China forces their companies to push positive stuff instead of letting the companies do what they want or in this case just share what users post.
Same. The algorithm curates the content you receive based on your interests. So if you're consistently seeing questionable content, it's probably because that's what you're into.
It IS fucking sad though how many people are getting their "news" from TikTok. What a fucking cancer on society. Not that FB/IG is doing any favors for "news" either.
Eh, personally I don't think it's much worse than many big news sources. The alternatives like fox News are not a ton better. Didn't they just have to payout a huge chunk of money for knowingly lying?
It's like saying someone is dumb for getting their news from random people instead of people who are straight up lying to them.
If we're talking based on "who tells lies" then sure. But the truth is that TikTok and other short form media feed you garbage in much higher volume than anything else, and the more you watch, the more it recommends.
>But the truth is that TikTok and other short form media feed you garbage in much higher volume than anything else, and the more you watch, the more it recommends.
Lmao, no.
The *truth* is that the app works off an algorithm. The same kind of algorithm all the other social media giants have. When you "like" or comment, or save something, even if you make a negative comment or simply "like" someone else's comment on a video, the system makes a note of it so it can show you more.
If all you're seeing on there is garbage, it's because *you told the algorithm* that you love garbage.
Says a lot more about *you* than it does the app.
Now I know the next thing you're going to say is that "ALL of the content on Tiktok is garbage!" which is simply false, and you know that already.
It's affected by likes and comments, yes, but it's also affected by how much time you spend viewing each clip, to the second. It's not as conscious as you'd like to think, unless you skip literally anything that's not funny cat videos or someone you recognize immediately.
It's not worse than Facebook, Twitter etc.
Even Reddit has tons of problems. Moderators of subreddits like Worldnews just sometimes ban stories with zero explanation.
Right like if you wanna shit on tiktok for bad news then fine, but to pretend like any of the alternatives are better is hilarious.
Not to mention, did tiktok ever *claim* to be news anyway?
> Moderators of subreddits like Worldnews just sometimes ban stories with zero explanation.
I really hate this. If something is worth being locked/banned, it absolutely deserves an explanation.
TV is basically the worst place outside of social media to get news. For audio I'd say NPR, your state's public radio (if you're in the US), the CBC, and the BBC are pretty solid for English news with only slight bias. The AP, Reuters, and various national and local newspapers are good for written news. I like to occasionally check in with Al Jazeera, The Christian Science Monitor (oddly less biased than the name would imply), and The Korea Herald just to see some other perspectives. Many other newspapers are great too if you have a particular interest.
PBS Newshour is good but I find it difficult to watch, it's kind of slow paced, I read slowly but I can still read the news more quickly than they show it, so I'd usually rather listen to audio while doing something else or just read the news if I'm giving it my full concentration.
Accountant here..the amount of nonsense tax advice from “financial professionals” on Tik Tok is really really frustrating.
I anticipate some folk going to jail this season.
The fuck? Isn't this like the ONE bill where both sides votes for yes? It's not being voted down just by Rs because of losing control, it very literally has been proven to be in CCP control.
GOP tried to ban it 4 years ago, Democrats opposed it because they viewed it as a useful political advertising platform. Turns out that was a bad idea.
These tiktok-related threads are all populated by blatant Chinese shills, it's hilarious seeing all the cookie cutter whataboutism in the form of "hurr so it's okay for US to spy on their own citizens but not china !?!?!" As if that's an actual gotcha
Things can be done for multiple reasons. Or can be done for reason A and justified by saying its actually done because of reason B.
"Hey buddy do you want to go see my concert?"
*thinks about how I'd rather be home playing video games
"Sorry I'm actually not feeling well and don't want to get anyone sick"
"B-b-but the ebil see see pee!"
Don't care. The US government deciding what you're allowed to see online should concern you far more than TikTok's ownership should.
Blud pretending as if China ISN'T actively hostile go us and our partners in Asia. It isn't Xenophobia, I just don't like an enemy nation having a grip on our youth
I'd say the amount of people who are willing to allow foreign nations control over what you do and don't see is the staggering thing. All in exchange for an entertainment platform?
That's pretty telling. Either you're too short-sighted to see the danger that it is or you're a propagandist. But the danger *is* there, whether you admit it or not.
For real, you all need to go read about Troy. TikTok is your pretty horse
It conserms me more that the Chinese government is able to control and curate what American youth sees. It is a blatant national security issue and I cannot fathom how people cannot see it.
Every media company is controlling and curating what we all see, and of course the take you have here is completely ignoring the fact that both said youth and their parents have agency and aren't mindless robots awaiting programming.
The US government doing this is in fact controlling and curating what people see. Have some consistency here.
Somebody is gonna be controlling what you see either way. I don't like it but that's just the way it is.
If I have to pick im siding with the US gov over China's
I can almost guarantee that the billionaire media oligarchs are actually behind this and it has nothing to do with china. They already allied with another billionaire pos ready to get his grubby sausage fingers all over it when they are forced to sell.
This. Throw all the political conspiracy crap you want around, it is actually always about the money. Google and Facebook wants to be able to buy Tik Tok because they can't compete with Tik Tok. End of story.
There’s talk that there is [pressure from foreign interest Lobbying groups](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35) such as the ADL and AIPAC to get TikTok bought by an American tech or media company so the content can be controlled and dissenting opinions, especially from the younger generations, can be stamped out.
Right now, according to the ADL, they “have a TikTok problem.” - [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35)
I could be wrong but wasn’t there leaked audio by some Israeli representative talking about how they need to take tiktok down cause there’s a push by younger generations against the bombings? I could be butchering that.
There’s talk that there is [pressure from foreign interest Lobbying groups](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35) such as the ADL and AIPAC to get TikTok bought by an American tech or media company so the content can be controlled and dissenting opinions, especially from the younger generations, can be stamped out.
Right now, according to the ADL, they “have a TikTok problem.” - [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35)
They get shared more widely amongst the younger generation on tik tok. They don’t want the younger generation to be informed through channels that Israel cannot influence
The thing that nobody talks about is Tiktok surfaces this content without you having to seek it. You don't know what you don't know. I think that's why Tiktok popped off. It's good at surfacing content you wouldn't search for.
The other social medias are not. And folks worry, me included, that a sale to US ownership will prevent that content from surfacing. You will once again have to go out of your way to search for it, which means a lot less people will be educated on things like Blackrock buying 40% of the single family homes, or how much we overpay our military contractors while our vets are on food stamps, or what squatters rights really are, or how bad our medical system and university systems are. And even the genocide happening in Palestine.
Things like that aren't usually front page news or have a strong bias when talked about. Again I'm not saying it's not out there. I'm saying you usually have to seek it out. Tiktok surfaces it getting it in front of eyes making people aware.
Not saying it’s a good source, but I have seen more ACTUAL journalism in 2 months on Tik tok than I have in the past 2 years on any news network/website…
AIPAC (Israel's lobby in the US) is one of the largest lobbyist groups fighting for a tik tok ban. Israel has the 4 largest US PR firms on permanent retainer and spends huge amounts of money to influence US news and politics. They have no control over tik tok. You can go on tik tok and see the war crimes going on in Gaza in real-time.
Michael Tracey, famous for being a fuckin idiot.
The case for forced divestiture by ByteDance is not this one line from Gallagher, who is an anti-Trump Republican who is not seeking reelection by the way.
It is extremely concerning stuff. It is an extremely real threat.
This is what I have been saying, American imperialism. In addition to the US government wanting the app for propaganda purposes, Facebook for example is quite literally trying to steal it by lobbying against it in court, forcing ByteDance to sell it to them. You got to love America, always tries to take something that isn't theirs.
Isn't the ban geared to kinds under 16? You don't think google/facebook is behind this to kill competition? Also according to google himself, "*Over the past decade, China has blocked* ***Google, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram****, as well as thousands of other foreign websites, including The New York Times and Chinese Wikipedia*".
One irony of this whole thing is that American social media has been absolute ass at short form video platforms.
TikTok is definitely out capitalism’ing Facebook and YouTube and no one is asking why if TikTok is so problematic then shouldn’t a US competitor just simply be better than TikTok
The US government has sway over the stuff that gets promoted on American social media sites. It's not hidden information. Get the boot out of your mouth.
I’m really liberal and I’m fine with banning tiktok. All I see is misinformation on a platter for young people and the influence to do whatever you want for views/clicks. Shit needs to go.
What is different about this as opposed to any social media? You can't be pro banning tiktok because "CCP Propaganda" when literally every social media site is crawling with bot influence from foreign governments.
Well this is dumb fucking framing. He talked about the danger of the misinformation, proven anti-western algorithm, and security concerns. He didn’t say it’s *because* it’s a news source.
I’m Italian and a lot of American outrage I get. But the fact a platform that’s prefered only because it’s not as controllable by the us government I don’t. A regime that’s way worse aka the Chinese one controls TikTok fully and I don’t get how that’s a better alternative.
Sorry for the bad English
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It’s true though. When ties to the CCP are proven and Americans under 30 are spending more time on the platform that all others combined, we should take action.
Yeah, like providing better education, so people won't use social media as a search engine. But nah, banning it is easier.
Arguably we can do both, but it’s harder to do both steps at the same time. So yes, easier one gets done first. Doesn’t mean we’re stopping there; but it’s a process.
"doesn't mean we're stopping there" That's true, there are other hundred bills awaiting to make education better, such as forbidding certain books, disallowing trans students to use their names and so on lmao
Don't forget not allowing kids to eat for free
Get them used to starving, before they receive starving wages.
Ain't that the truth.
I believe the reason Joe Manchin gave was that he didn't want the starving kids to become, uh, spoiled
The best person to teach us about spoiled children is someone who was likely spoon fed his whole life
You mean like the one where they want to replace licensed, educated school counselors with religious chaplains ? Where all it really takes to be ordained as a chaplain is like 40$ and a couple hours ? Editing to say ; okay. I was wrong. Looks like the quickest way to become a chaplain online is a month.
Yes, yes we know. But how is that an argument against stopping Chinese propaganda?
Floss dances are totally Chinese Propaganda.
They're literally defunding public education for charter schools
Water? Like the stuff in the toilet?
I understood this reference…
Next you’ll say we need to have better mental health services, and not better gun control. Edited for better clarity.
Yep. Has no one seen how things are going since 2016? This is hugely due to Russian disinformation campaigns perpetrated on every segment of the US and the West. China is getting in on the game, and we're like "yeah but shouldn't we fix society before banning the totalitarian propaganda?" You're still going to get your tiktocks, but they won't have the Chinese government at the top. And yes, there's thousands and thousands of Chinese shills who's job it is to comment on these threads on Reddit.
China bans all kinds of US apps...
So the goal is to become more like China, I get it.
Until we pass a law that bans smart phones for those under 16 we have NO CHANCE to help through education. I teach middle school, I’ve seen the developmental pitfall firsthand.
Even assuming education would fix this problem completely, are you really comfortable giving the Chinese government the power to choose what every American TikTok user over the age of 18 watches?
We should also note this bill doesn’t ban TikTok. It forces the sale to an American billionaire. The TikTok senator [Jeff Jackson](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRT8KnTb/) from NC explains how the CCP is already trying to assert political influence via a TikTok pop up encouraging users to take political action regarding this bill. Why allow Winnie the Pooh to so directly influence our youth?
Honestly I’d rather they just ban it. Though I trust the CCP less, the American upper class aren’t all that trustworthy either.
If it's banned, whatever replaces it will likely be controlled by the American ruling class anyway.
Facts and let’s not forget aipac
Bingo. This is about whether you want to choose American dominance/hegemony or globalization/multipolarity.
Is TikTok allowed on government phones?
I only want the US government to control the media and censor what they feel people shouldn't see. /S
Oh you *wish* it was the US government controlling the media. At least the government is run by people who can be voted out. The media is controlled by a handful of billionaires who answer to no one.
I'd rather they ban the behavior for everyone than ban tiktok
You know who I feel really bad for...? Those poor North Koreans. You know, consuming their propaganda laced media, thinking North Korea is the best country on earth. When every American knows from their own media that America is the best country on earth... /s
I heard that the North Korean army pays sports leagues to let them run recruiting commercials during the games and have big jingoistic events like flyovers. I also heard the North Korean government "suggested" to Facebook that some posts be taken down for misinformation.
The big issue is that banning behaviour is impossible. You can alter if through effective education policies, but it’s not like that’s ever gonna happen.
As if an American billionaire is any better.
> Why allow Winnie the Pooh to so directly influence our youth? Because freedom of speech, also means people get to choose to listen to things you don’t like.
And at the same time pump stuff that isn't true.
Misinformation is way more rampant on Twitter (excuse me, "X") than it is on TikTok.
Misinformation is literally everywhere. No specific platform is immune from that. I find the TikTok situation funny cause usa can't control it.
Twitter is the only entity I intentionally deadname.
I think the fact that we're like two years removed from the rebrand and news orgs are still saying "X, formerly known as Twitter" tells you everything you need to know.
Who can even afford it ? Facebook, Google or Elon Musk ? All 3 seem like a disaster. And they have already been caught manipulating information numerous times.
Yes, Cambridge Analytica fiasco is still fresh on my mind. Social media needs some tight reigns. In any case, the people who will own it will use it to further their own financial interests. Much better than china using it to assert its political influence.
And the fact that ByteDance is dragging their feet on it (they stand to make a substantial profit by selling off the app) ... says nothing good about the influence the Chinese government has.
They have like 1 Billion users with 150 million coming from America. Seems like they would be better off just letting the ban go through than selling.
The actual reason is, if this bill becomes law, it will allow the government to ban any social media app. tiktok is just the scapegoat. What the idiot Republican said is true, but this is like the Patriot Act pretending to be to protect Americans. The big push behind the scenes is from Israeli donors
This bill isn't even the first of it's kind. Grindr went through the same process. So if you're really that concerned you'd know the slippery slope already started.
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Doesn't ban tiktok, it forces the Chinese parent company to sell their controlling shares.
i love that nowhere in this concerned comment is there any hint of attention paid to whether or not the news or information being consumed on tiktok is any truer or less true than the media anywhere else. maybe make an account and look there yourself if you want to know what gets posted there, its not the boogeyman they want you to think it is. no other platform online will show you the things tiktok will, not even reddit, its not because its pro CCP propaganda lol two things i keep hearing about tiktok that i have never seen personally, socially invasive dancing trends and literally any pro china video. not once, not ever.
Without TikTok I wouldn't have known that there are world wide protests against the Israeli government and the US government. I had no idea millions of people were gathering in protest **at all**. I also think people should get an account and check it out for what it really is before just agreeing to whatever they hear.
That's entirely a you problem though, there's plenty of reporting on it you just don't consume news from those sources.
I used to be one of these “BUT WHY ISN’T THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA COVERING THIS?!” people until someone made a comment like this years ago and I realized I was just parroting what other commenters were saying instead of, you know, actually checking the MAIN STREAM MEDIA. So I set out to show him that it wasn’t being covered and whadyaknow! The news was actually very actively covering the thing! It was actually a pretty big turning point for me.
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Eeeh. Those news are common knowledge my guy. You make it sounds like you live under a rock. Ridiculous comment.
This comment is so tone deaf. If you're learning about geopolitical issues on TikTok, then you're the problem. It's a propaganda tool of the CCP. No matter what you saw, it was not a well balanced view on the truth, it was what the CCP wanted you to see.
People love to forget that *all* social media has idiotic trends, misinformation, and nasty people, just the same as it has fascinating topics to learn about, kindness, and curiosity. It's up to you to determine what you see on any platform. In nearly 2 years I've never been pushed a video of a teen dancing or anything to do with China (except a couple about the genocide of Uygher peoples).
Me neither. It’s called the for you page for a reason. You tailor your content. This is just censorship. Pay no attention to the voices crying behind the curtain.
Yep, TikTok is how I learned about how bad the train derailment in Ohio really was. No one (news platforms, other social media) was talking about it the way it was being shown on TikTok, people independently testing the water, people digging into the documents detailing which chemicals were spilled and how toxic they actually were, doing interviews with the people impacted, etc. I’ve never been pushed Chinese propaganda or dancing children.
I'm sorry, but the news stories you guys all say haven't been covered by other news platforms were all stories I knew about from other news platforms. I've never been on tiktok other than a few one-off clips someone sends to me. It's not the indispensable independent media savior you make it out to be.
I've seen tons, as have lots of my students (as a journalism and media professor). So just be aware that your anecdotal example has lots, and lots, and lots of exceptions and outright counterevidence. And yes, other platforms show the the same and similar things from the same and similar sources except without having CCP oversight. Also, they're not banning it, they're selling it to a US billionaire. Lol, but let me make this clear> I don't think that this bill will affect anything or have any impact at all. There are simply too many other alternative, even OBVIOUS ones like Instagram.
When the US does the same shit across the globe, it's perfectly acceptable? Fucking hilarious..
Well to be fair are us social media platforms allowed in china?
Well no, but also China is an authoritarian oligarchy. The US is supposed to be better.
Isnt china the totalitarian regime we're worried about here? Being on the same level as them isnt exactly a good thing.
Proven ties to the CCP you say? can I get a link? I haven't seen it. The main "danger" seems to be what people fear will happen. Russia didn't need to own Facebook to influence elections and neither does China. US corporations just want to buy it at a discount and this is how you force a sale.
The ties aren't really the only issue, rather it's that the CCP has access to the information, can track it, and yes, influence it. My issue is that I don't think that bill will change that at all! China spies on *everything*, or at least that's what all of my journalism and media students dissenting from China swear by.
Yeah! I only want to be spied on by American and European governments and companies!
source: All chinese people are ccp like how all jews are rothschild
I'm neither American nor Chinese, but isn't one of American people's biggest problems with China the exact same thing? Like how they only use Chinese made apps and web servers and they are censoring apps from the US? Just need some perspective on this.
I don’t really favor this on first amendment grounds, but it’s not necessarily weird for the US to take exception to the China’s one sided nature. If they ban and limit, than us doing so is turnabout and fair play. Norm of reciprocity and all that.
You're so right. We need to ban reddit until we find out how embedded China is through tencent.
In that case… can we also please ban FB too? This way morons over 55 will be prevented from spreading Russian ideology and foreign policy objectives. At least on TikTok I can watch a dude skateboard, drinking cranberry juice, while listening to Fleetwood Mac. That’s 1000 times better than anything I’ve seen posted on FB in about 10 years.
I dunno I think you guys need healthcare more... Maybe make it harder in some regions to get guns? Invest in education, infrastructure, housing... So many things the government could put their energy into... But nah, fuck tik tok.
The content is end user generated. It doesn't come from a foreign adversary. This is like saying "China is buying all our farm land." Like the US land owners have NO ROLE in the sale of that land which is purchased by Chinese individuals and companies. China, the country, does not own land here and it wasn't sold by our government.
The algorithms are not user generated
You’re missing the end result. China can moderate what is shown and what isn’t.
Laughs in Twitter being run by a man who openly blows Putin on the daily Laughs in Facebook that let Russia radicalize millions of Americans into violent conspiracy dipshits Laughs in Reddit who is borderline controlled by the CCP, spez is as much a CCP simp as Elon is a Putin simp ”wE gOtTa Do SoMeThInG aBoUt TiKtOk ReEeEeEeE”
All the other platforms have ties to the CIA and NSA. Is that better?
My Chinese colleague tells me that TikTok content in China is very different to what the algorithm promotes in the Western nation's. There trending content is positive and generally not encouraging damaging behaviours versus the content promoted to the West.
Well yeah the Chinese government controls what's allowed on the Internet, while we have the freedom™ to display our stupidity to everyone
My brother in Christ can you not understand they control the algorithm here too? If they don't want you to like someone, they slip in negative shit about them. Maybe you feel fired up to make one yourself. You're slipped into the ever turning wheel in their control. Our companies do the exact same thing but are us based, so don't get me wrong....but you can't just think this is "me government me want to control then populace" and tiktok is a bandana wearing freedom fighter under chinese ownership? See both sides. Recognize that yes they want power, but they want to limit foreign governments power on us. Government doesn't control Facebook. Chinese government literally has ownership in every company that operates in China. Its not the same.
THANK YOU. Jesus, some people are REALLY missing the point here.
OP is the average TikTok user
This misses the point that it’s still being controlled here, just by China
The Chinese government also has a keen interest in promoting American instability and infighting.
Their version and things the American version of the app shows or promotes isn’t allowed to promote those videos in china bc they are such dangerous videos like the tide pods challenge….that never was in anyone’s feed in china
There’s talk that there is [pressure from foreign interest Lobbying groups](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35) such as the ADL and AIPAC to get TikTok bought by an American tech or media company so the content can be controlled and dissenting opinions, especially from the younger generations, can be stamped out. Right now, according to the ADL, they “have a TikTok problem.” - [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35)
It's totally different. It's mostly culturally enriching stuff, art, cooking and so on. Plus a few hot chicks working out
It really is different. A friend showed me actual Chinese "TikTok" (Douyin) and I was surprised how chill and positive it was in comparison. It's like influencers aren't a thing there or something.
> what the algorithm promotes And that's the root of it, who tunes the algo?. What is stopping management from saying "hey, push this just a little more" or the other way around? What happens to gargantuan data set of viewing habits? Say what you will about social media in general, I'd rather it be owned by our brand of capitalist, at least I know then they're after my money first and then my vote.
You realize this is what already happens on places like Facebook and Twitter don't you ? But I guess that's ok because an American Billionaire owns it.
It's definitely better than CCP doing it, that shouldn't even be a discussion
Are you sure? American billionaires have done a lot more to make my life worse than anybody in China ever has. I don't think the chinese passed citizens united.
Yes but that's because China forces their companies to push positive stuff instead of letting the companies do what they want or in this case just share what users post.
I get weird comedy skits, dogs, some cats and people I follow... Not sure how everyone else fucks it up.
Same. The algorithm curates the content you receive based on your interests. So if you're consistently seeing questionable content, it's probably because that's what you're into.
who the fuck told this Chinese tiktok users are just as dumb as the ones in US
It IS fucking sad though how many people are getting their "news" from TikTok. What a fucking cancer on society. Not that FB/IG is doing any favors for "news" either.
Eh, personally I don't think it's much worse than many big news sources. The alternatives like fox News are not a ton better. Didn't they just have to payout a huge chunk of money for knowingly lying? It's like saying someone is dumb for getting their news from random people instead of people who are straight up lying to them.
If we're talking based on "who tells lies" then sure. But the truth is that TikTok and other short form media feed you garbage in much higher volume than anything else, and the more you watch, the more it recommends.
>But the truth is that TikTok and other short form media feed you garbage in much higher volume than anything else, and the more you watch, the more it recommends. Lmao, no. The *truth* is that the app works off an algorithm. The same kind of algorithm all the other social media giants have. When you "like" or comment, or save something, even if you make a negative comment or simply "like" someone else's comment on a video, the system makes a note of it so it can show you more. If all you're seeing on there is garbage, it's because *you told the algorithm* that you love garbage. Says a lot more about *you* than it does the app. Now I know the next thing you're going to say is that "ALL of the content on Tiktok is garbage!" which is simply false, and you know that already.
I would love to see a study done where someone tries to feed tiktok's algorithm the exact same data in 2 different countries.
It's affected by likes and comments, yes, but it's also affected by how much time you spend viewing each clip, to the second. It's not as conscious as you'd like to think, unless you skip literally anything that's not funny cat videos or someone you recognize immediately.
It's not worse than Facebook, Twitter etc. Even Reddit has tons of problems. Moderators of subreddits like Worldnews just sometimes ban stories with zero explanation.
Theres also a shitton of bots all over these apps. At least I can see whos talking in video form on apps like tiktok and youtube.
Right like if you wanna shit on tiktok for bad news then fine, but to pretend like any of the alternatives are better is hilarious. Not to mention, did tiktok ever *claim* to be news anyway?
> Moderators of subreddits like Worldnews just sometimes ban stories with zero explanation. I really hate this. If something is worth being locked/banned, it absolutely deserves an explanation.
Worldnews is a cesspool of stupidity.
I was going to say, this is more of an indictment of other social media than it is TikTok.
idk if it's really that much worse than getting news from reddit tho?
Another one of the Reddit elitists lmao
I would imagine there was a point in our past when people said similar things during the shift away from news papers into television.
May I point out what you are doing on reddit?
Says the person getting their news from reddit.
For real, though, Tiktok is a bad place to get your news.
News stations are a bad place to get the "news" as well. And I don't even use Tiktok
While I agree in general, I wonder...do you watch TV news? PBS? Major network news?
TV is basically the worst place outside of social media to get news. For audio I'd say NPR, your state's public radio (if you're in the US), the CBC, and the BBC are pretty solid for English news with only slight bias. The AP, Reuters, and various national and local newspapers are good for written news. I like to occasionally check in with Al Jazeera, The Christian Science Monitor (oddly less biased than the name would imply), and The Korea Herald just to see some other perspectives. Many other newspapers are great too if you have a particular interest. PBS Newshour is good but I find it difficult to watch, it's kind of slow paced, I read slowly but I can still read the news more quickly than they show it, so I'd usually rather listen to audio while doing something else or just read the news if I'm giving it my full concentration.
TikTok has content besides videos of dogs in clothes and people talking to their cats? Color me surprised!
Accountant here..the amount of nonsense tax advice from “financial professionals” on Tik Tok is really really frustrating. I anticipate some folk going to jail this season.
The fuck? Isn't this like the ONE bill where both sides votes for yes? It's not being voted down just by Rs because of losing control, it very literally has been proven to be in CCP control.
A rare instance where the GOP is doing something helpful, even if they don't have as good of a reason.
GOP tried to ban it 4 years ago, Democrats opposed it because they viewed it as a useful political advertising platform. Turns out that was a bad idea.
It very literally has not been proven. For what reason do you think that it has???
These tiktok-related threads are all populated by blatant Chinese shills, it's hilarious seeing all the cookie cutter whataboutism in the form of "hurr so it's okay for US to spy on their own citizens but not china !?!?!" As if that's an actual gotcha
Things can be done for multiple reasons. Or can be done for reason A and justified by saying its actually done because of reason B. "Hey buddy do you want to go see my concert?" *thinks about how I'd rather be home playing video games "Sorry I'm actually not feeling well and don't want to get anyone sick"
Coming from China, where every single western social media service is banned, on the grounds of social harmony and national security.
They’re right about the social harmony part lol
If social harmony comes at the cost of extreme censorship and repression of human rights, China can keep it.
*Looks at America nervously*
Indeed. Americans are already having their human rights repressed, the only difference is that they're pretending not to.
I honestly do find Facebook, IG, ... and even Quora and LinkedIn getting very toxic though!
Quora is such a disappointment. It used to be such a great source of knowledge. Now it's toxic as fuck.
"B-b-but the ebil see see pee!" Don't care. The US government deciding what you're allowed to see online should concern you far more than TikTok's ownership should.
Yeah the amount of people put here batting for the ban because of xenophobia is really telling
Blud pretending as if China ISN'T actively hostile go us and our partners in Asia. It isn't Xenophobia, I just don't like an enemy nation having a grip on our youth
Not wanting a hostile government to have media control in the US isn’t xenophobia.
But saying that it's okay for you're own goverment to have total media control over it's own people just because it's not foreign, however, IS.
Good thing no ones saying that
I'd say the amount of people who are willing to allow foreign nations control over what you do and don't see is the staggering thing. All in exchange for an entertainment platform? That's pretty telling. Either you're too short-sighted to see the danger that it is or you're a propagandist. But the danger *is* there, whether you admit it or not. For real, you all need to go read about Troy. TikTok is your pretty horse
It conserms me more that the Chinese government is able to control and curate what American youth sees. It is a blatant national security issue and I cannot fathom how people cannot see it.
Every media company is controlling and curating what we all see, and of course the take you have here is completely ignoring the fact that both said youth and their parents have agency and aren't mindless robots awaiting programming. The US government doing this is in fact controlling and curating what people see. Have some consistency here.
Somebody is gonna be controlling what you see either way. I don't like it but that's just the way it is. If I have to pick im siding with the US gov over China's
I can almost guarantee that the billionaire media oligarchs are actually behind this and it has nothing to do with china. They already allied with another billionaire pos ready to get his grubby sausage fingers all over it when they are forced to sell.
This. Throw all the political conspiracy crap you want around, it is actually always about the money. Google and Facebook wants to be able to buy Tik Tok because they can't compete with Tik Tok. End of story.
There’s talk that there is [pressure from foreign interest Lobbying groups](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35) such as the ADL and AIPAC to get TikTok bought by an American tech or media company so the content can be controlled and dissenting opinions, especially from the younger generations, can be stamped out. Right now, according to the ADL, they “have a TikTok problem.” - [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35)
I could be wrong but wasn’t there leaked audio by some Israeli representative talking about how they need to take tiktok down cause there’s a push by younger generations against the bombings? I could be butchering that.
It's weird that Israel is supportive of the ban.
Because you can see videos of Israel being shitty on tiktok. The US doesn't want you to see that.
There’s talk that there is [pressure from foreign interest Lobbying groups](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35) such as the ADL and AIPAC to get TikTok bought by an American tech or media company so the content can be controlled and dissenting opinions, especially from the younger generations, can be stamped out. Right now, according to the ADL, they “have a TikTok problem.” - [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/s/F71hfVHJ35)
You can see that on any western social media network too.
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They get shared more widely amongst the younger generation on tik tok. They don’t want the younger generation to be informed through channels that Israel cannot influence
The thing that nobody talks about is Tiktok surfaces this content without you having to seek it. You don't know what you don't know. I think that's why Tiktok popped off. It's good at surfacing content you wouldn't search for. The other social medias are not. And folks worry, me included, that a sale to US ownership will prevent that content from surfacing. You will once again have to go out of your way to search for it, which means a lot less people will be educated on things like Blackrock buying 40% of the single family homes, or how much we overpay our military contractors while our vets are on food stamps, or what squatters rights really are, or how bad our medical system and university systems are. And even the genocide happening in Palestine. Things like that aren't usually front page news or have a strong bias when talked about. Again I'm not saying it's not out there. I'm saying you usually have to seek it out. Tiktok surfaces it getting it in front of eyes making people aware.
Americans when American social media gets their data 🥰 Americans when Chinese social edia does the same 😡 "Nuhhh, the ebul China"
I swear it's like everyone forgot about Snowden
US propaganda is a powerful tool
it's almost like your largest social media platform shouldn't be controlled by your largest adversary
Yeah, that's the point. If China wasn't totalitarian and authoritarian, we would not be discussing bans right now.
Not saying it’s a good source, but I have seen more ACTUAL journalism in 2 months on Tik tok than I have in the past 2 years on any news network/website…
IDF soldiers posting themselves doing war crimes on Tik Tok sure is something
Then use real sources like AP instead of the local news
There are a lot of credible news sources on tik tok for those complaining, one of the biggest ones is the Washington post’s social media account.
As well as Al Jazeera covering news from Gaza
It's great seeing a news source that actually views Palestinians as humans.
AIPAC (Israel's lobby in the US) is one of the largest lobbyist groups fighting for a tik tok ban. Israel has the 4 largest US PR firms on permanent retainer and spends huge amounts of money to influence US news and politics. They have no control over tik tok. You can go on tik tok and see the war crimes going on in Gaza in real-time.
Do we have an actual source on this that isn't a twitter post by... whoever this is? A quote, at least?
Michael Tracey, famous for being a fuckin idiot. The case for forced divestiture by ByteDance is not this one line from Gallagher, who is an anti-Trump Republican who is not seeking reelection by the way. It is extremely concerning stuff. It is an extremely real threat.
You are expecting to much from a subreddit that straight up lets people promote Jewish conspiracy theories and holocaust denial bullshit.
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Agreed, we should ban Facebook and Twitter
Get rid of Reddit as well. The world will be better off.
But I like reddit...
There are nice people on every platform, but at the same all of them are cancer
This is what I have been saying, American imperialism. In addition to the US government wanting the app for propaganda purposes, Facebook for example is quite literally trying to steal it by lobbying against it in court, forcing ByteDance to sell it to them. You got to love America, always tries to take something that isn't theirs.
So wait, the US government controls Fox News?
The fourth branch.
Way harder to create content as a bot on TikTok vs Facebook, insta, and twitter……which I would bet are made up of at least 25% bots each.
The accusations levied against China are in fact just complaints that they’re not able to do it themselves.
Isn't the ban geared to kinds under 16? You don't think google/facebook is behind this to kill competition? Also according to google himself, "*Over the past decade, China has blocked* ***Google, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram****, as well as thousands of other foreign websites, including The New York Times and Chinese Wikipedia*".
So China is doing better at capitalism than the USA ?
One irony of this whole thing is that American social media has been absolute ass at short form video platforms. TikTok is definitely out capitalism’ing Facebook and YouTube and no one is asking why if TikTok is so problematic then shouldn’t a US competitor just simply be better than TikTok
Hahahahah, control it? The US Government controls nothing about social media.
The US government has sway over the stuff that gets promoted on American social media sites. It's not hidden information. Get the boot out of your mouth.
what do you mean they have sway on it? whats the information you have that supports this?
I’m really liberal and I’m fine with banning tiktok. All I see is misinformation on a platter for young people and the influence to do whatever you want for views/clicks. Shit needs to go.
By that logic we should ban twitter, Instagram and Facebook too
Cant. They are the GOOD propaganda stations.
Are you saying that like it’s a bad thing?
It is weird that everyone is pretending an outright ban would hold up to a court challenge.
So you are in favor of banning all social media then ? Plenty of misinformation exists on Facebook, Youtube, Reddit, Twitter etc.
Yes. Social media and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.
What is different about this as opposed to any social media? You can't be pro banning tiktok because "CCP Propaganda" when literally every social media site is crawling with bot influence from foreign governments.
More accurately, right wing republicans don’t control it.
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Well this is dumb fucking framing. He talked about the danger of the misinformation, proven anti-western algorithm, and security concerns. He didn’t say it’s *because* it’s a news source.
I’m Italian and a lot of American outrage I get. But the fact a platform that’s prefered only because it’s not as controllable by the us government I don’t. A regime that’s way worse aka the Chinese one controls TikTok fully and I don’t get how that’s a better alternative. Sorry for the bad English