U.S. Threatens Ban if TikTok's Chinese Owners Don't Sell Stakes

[brooklynite]

Source: Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is demanding that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell their stakes in the video-sharing app or face a possible U.S. ban of the app, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move represents a major shift in policy on the part of the administration, which has been under fire from some Republicans who say it hasn’t taken a tough enough stance to address the perceived security threat from TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-threatens-to-ban-tiktok-if-chinese-founder-doesnt-sell-ownership-stake-36d7295c

[shawn703]

1. Can't see it happening

Banning it from government devices makes sense. Banning it from the entire US does not. Do we really want to be known as the party responsible for banning one of the most popular apps of Gen Z just because we’re under pressure from Republicans? Inform them of the risks, but let them (or their parents, as appropriate) make the decision about whether or not they should continue to use it. Politically just see more down side than up for this kind of action.

[PortTack]

2. Agree... it would be a terrible mistake to ban one of the single most popular apps among gen Z

And millennials.

[Mr. Evil]

8. Looking at Tik Tok videos is one thing.

Actually signing up is another. Of all the shitty things in their TOS one in particular is alarming. Upon agreement you allow to them to collect "keyboard usage patterns." Now, I'm no super IT genius (although I've been building rigs for my friends and myself for well over 20 years) but, that is the next worst thing than to actually having a keylogger clandestinely installed in your system. And with AI and algorithmic capabilities increasing seemingly on a daily basis that's not something I would ever agree to. This is one reason why everyone should always read the 'Terms of Service.'

Just how long would it take to decipher someone's passwords by examining "keyboard usage patterns?" I don't want to find out. I really don't crave entertainment that badly. If I do, I just listen to music and enjoy some beer.

[XorXor]

10. I tend to agree with that.

I will not use tiktok and I would advise against others using it. I also think it's a good idea to not allow it on government phones, and I think corporations should restrict its use too. However, I am opposed to the US government banning apps for the people. I would be against it even without the political concerns that you mentioned. I'd much rather see us focus on making privacy regulations that protect every from any app. Then if tiktok or any other app violates these regulations, then they can be dealt with.

[Shipwack]

3. The hysteria over Tik-Tok is -so- unwarranted...

I agree that it has no place on government devices, and probably shouldn't be on the personal device of anyone in the government. But should the average person worry? Meh...

Digital tons of personal data is already collected from most people that have a cell phone, and if the Chinese government really wants it they can just buy it openly. Of course, they'll have to get in line behind the police and the Russians.

I don't see it as being all that useful for propaganda, either. If it is subtle, it won't have much affect. If it is stronger, it'll be annoying and people will just swipe left/down/however you skip to the next video (I don't have the app because it would be too addictive for me...).

[Orrex]

4. That sounds a lot like "if I'm not doing anything wrong, then I have nothing to worry about"

I'm well beyond the target demographic for the platform, and my use of it is limited to whatever clips catch my eye on YouTube, but when I hear a platform's user insist that there's nothing to fear, I'm struck that the user--i.e. the product--isn't really in a position to make that assertion.

I agree that an outright ban isn't feasible, but I get the sense that there has to be some middle ground between "thou shalt not use it" and "it's absolutely nothing to worry about."

[Lancero]

6. It's more "why are we only worrying about that" instead of "It's nothing to worry about"

TikTok most certainly spies on it's users. That usage data is extremely valuable afterall. But the information they're collecting isn't any different to data collected by, say, Google. Or Facebook. Or Twitter. Or whatever other White owned social media companies are being given a free pass.

I'd certainly be in favor of equal restrictions on user data placed upon all social media companies. But when you're focusing entirely on one company, to the exclusion of all others that do the same exact shit, it's pretty obvious that it's not a desire for user privacy thats driving things.

[Shipwack]

13. Thank you for making my point better than I did. nt

[Orrex]

15. Which other platforms are owned by openly hostile foreign powers?

And, of those, how many have an established history of stealing intellectual property and refusing any accountability for it?

I ask the question in good faith, because for all I know the answer may be “all of them.”

But if TikTok is unique in this regard, or at least if it’s a uniquely egregious offender, then it seems foolish to hold it to the same standards as a domestic company subject to domestic laws.

[live love laugh]

5. I don't think Biden should focus on this.

[AZLD4Candidate]

7. Good. Tiktok is a CCP spy aparatus. They use this app to send pro-CCP propagnda

and indoctrinate people who think it's fun.

The CCP doesn't allow anything to be made, developed, or funded unless it gets information on people it can use.

Tiktok is a trojan horse.

[tornado34jh]

9. My only thing is, if we do it for this one, we would probably have to do it for others

I can't think of one app that doesn't collect data in some way shape or not. Telegram is a very popular app sometimes used here in the US, especially for fringe groups (although it is more geared to those in the former Soviet Union). Do we ban that as well? You open a Pandora's Box by doing so. Tiktok is used by millions in the US, way more than Snapchat. I am not sure how you can do that without risking angering a lot of people in that particular demographic.

[XorXor]

11. We should do it for others. That should be what we're going for. Create some regulations that

will help protect the people from what they fear China is doing with Tiktok. What's good for the goose is good for the gander or something like that.

[ancianita]

12. Techdirt weighs in, saying that, overall, Repubs will do the same thing with TikTok that China does

Hawley, who also enjoys pretending that he cares about stuff like antitrust reform and monopoly power, insists that a TikTok ban is necessary because he just cares so much about kids’ privacy and mental health:
“TikTok is China’s backdoor into Americans’ lives. It threatens our children’s privacy as well as their mental health,” he said on Twitter. “Now I will introduce legislation to ban it nationwide.”

The problem, as we note every time GOP FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr puts on a similar performance, is that these guys have spent their entire careers fighting against meaningful privacy and security standards, creating the very problem they’re now pretending to address.

They oppose privacy legislation of any kind. They oppose holding companies and executives accountable for privacy abuses. They oppose fighting corruption. They oppose expanding mental health care. And they fight tooth and nail to ensure that privacy regulators at the FTC routinely lack the staff, resources, or authority to police bad actors in adtech/telecom/apps consistently at any scale.

That has resulted in a parade of companies over-collecting consumer data and then selling access to it to any imbecile with a nickel. As such, banning TikTok does nothing. You’ve singled out one company in an ocean of international companies and services all doing effectively the same thing. And the Chinese government can buy all of this data from a rotating crop of dodgy data brokers.

The motivation here isn’t consumer privacy or national security. The Trumpist GOP hasn’t shown itself to be consistent enough politically, ethically, or intellectually to deserve having any of their comments or proposals taken at face value.

I still think the GOP hyperventilation over TikTok is, as most things the modern GOP does, a dumb performance. It agitates a xenophobic base and creates the flimsy impression the GOP is “doing something about China.” And, I’d all but guarantee the GOP-coddling execs at Facebook are working overtime behind the scenes to spread moral panic about a competitor.

But, more realistically I think, this hyperventilation over TikTok nudges the ball toward the GOP’s ultimate goal: forcing the sale of the most popular video app in America to one of their cronyistic BFFs. At which point, said BFFs will engage in all the same (or worse) behavior TikTok’s now engaged in.

Trump clumsily gave this game away a while back when he tried to offload the company to his Republican-allied buddies at Walmart and Oracle. I still think that’s the ultimate goal here. And not because the GOP cares about national security and privacy, but because some rich folks are in their ear drooling over the possibility of owning TikTok’s growing ad revenue.

https://www.techdirt.com/company/tiktok/

[ripcord]

14. This would just create a new underground industry to help people get around the ban