While more aggressive than most, TikTok’s extensive lobbying campaign is the latest attempt by the tech industry to head off any new legislation — and it's a fight the industry usually wins.
The young voices in the messages left for North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis were laughing, but the words were ominous.
“OK, listen, if you ban TikTok I will find you and shoot you,” one said, giggling and talking over other young voices in the background. “I’ll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces.” Another threatened to kill Tillis, and then take their own life.
Tillis’s office says it has received around 1,000 calls about TikTok since the House passed legislation this month that would ban the popular app if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake. TikTok has been urging its users — many of whom are young — to call their representatives, even providing an easy link to the phone numbers. “The government will take away the community that you and millions of other Americans love,” read one pop-up message from the company when users opened the app.
TikTok has been urging its users — many of whom are young — to call their representatives, even providing an easy link to the phone numbers.
Lol the first time I contacted my representatives was because Failblog told me to in order to kill the Stop Online Piracy Act around 2009. Glad the tradition's being kept alive.
Well contacting elected people isn't necessarily Lib, especially if the contact comes along with a threat. I suppose the main issue is that communist orgs have no ability to grow a mass movement from any sort of extreme hatred towards our rulers.
I mean it's absurd how stupid and shortsighted it is as a political move. Democrats could not pick things to piss off more of their base if they tried.
If you've spent your entire life practicing hiding under desks for when some incel tries to murder you and all your friends while the government refuses to do anything and then that same government takes away something you and all your friends like and tells you it's to protect your safety, when it's really obvious it's just so American companies can ruin it and fuck you over, jihad seems like a pretty modest proposal.
This is why a lot of pro trans stuff is getting shot down too. There was just a safe-haven bill that got killed in Maine due to death threats.
The fact that they won't listen to anything but death threats is bleak af.
Here in the UK politicians are very concerned with "online bullying" of politicians.
What they actually mean is the threats that they receive.
There is a very real attempt being made to increase powers against it which suggests to me that they find it an effective political tool and they don't like that.
“I mean, it’s almost embarrassing,” says Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., a former tech executive who is also supporting the TikTok bill and has long tried to push his colleagues to regulate the industry. “I would hate for us to maintain our perfect zero batting average on tech legislation.”
this shit would put you in the fucking negatives my guy
Is also blatantly anti-free speech. It’s massive government censorship, the equivalent of the cops storming into a newspaper’s offices and seizing the presses to stop publishing.
however there are still anti BDS laws (blatant first amendment violation) as well as the entirety of the NSA and patriot act (blatant 4th amendment violators)
the courts pick and choose and if something has a sliver of plausible pro-cop or pro-“national security” value (defined by the same agencies violating rights eg DHS, FBI, NSA…) it could very well be upheld by courts.
of course the idea that TikTok is a national security risk while facebook or twitter or the NSA somehow ARENT is based in racism, delusions and fairytales Americans keep telling. those are things hogs love…and judges are just overeducated hogs usually, so, my faith in them is nearly zero.
Well.. in a roundabout way maybe, but the US Congress is getting around a direct Free Speech conflict by only demanding that any Chinese interests divest from the company. If they sell (which they probably won't) then Congress technically gets a "win" and TikTok will continue to exist as is.
I'm in DC for a work thing and was shocked to see a TV ad extolling the virtues of TikTok. It basically followed the story of wounded purple heart Grandpa who needed a new scooter. The family tried everything but couldn't afford it and then... they took to tiktok. Holy shit! They were able to afford a scooter after donations rolled in! Isn't tiktok amazing?
It didn't specifically end with a call to congressman to stop the ban, but you could tell that's what they were going for.
I would never do this because it's illegal and a crime but it's very legal to laugh heartily and beam proudly and come away with a markedly better mood