This article is what made me realize the TikTok ban actually has a point. It isn't just about an open internet. It appears ByteDance is actively manipulating content.
edit: for the record, I was literally neutral on the issue until I came across this article earlier today
The US and China maintain a good economic relationship but aren't exactly buddies when it comes to geopolitical issues and have very different viewpoints on things like human rights and democracy.
I think one difference is Google is a pull system: you query Google and get results. The short form video streams are push mediums. They feed you a stream of content that it thinks you want. They are fundamentally more susceptible to pushing a particular agenda.
The evidence from the reports in the above article certainly looks pretty daming that tiktok is pushing a particular agenda. The comparison to broadcast which often does have licensing requirements is probably apt.
I don't buy the arguement that this gives cover to repressive regimes to censor more views because frankly they are doing that already.
If manipulating content were the issue they would have introduced a bill banning that practice. Banning a few specific countries from operating does not prevent sites from manipulating content.
The fact that the current TikTok that is served to the world is illegal in China should tell you a lot.
Rest of world it peddles brain dead influencers to kids. In China it is almost wholesome and helps educate children...
Giving a Chinese multinational control over mass marketing to your children means it will be used for their goals.. and not just serve as a capitalist add pushing platform.
Interesting article. I think the money quotes that shifted my POV a little were these:
It has become a leading source of information in this country. About one-third of Americans under 30 regularly get their news from it.
and
American law has long restricted foreign ownership of television or radio stations, even by companies based in friendly countries. “Limits on foreign ownership have been a part of federal communications policy for more than a century,”
It does place the ban in some more relevant historical context.
I skimmed the article and I see your concern, but my skepticism remains because of the inherent assumption that instagram is trustworthy and not already tinkering with their own algorithms. Just because the company is American owned doesn’t make it any more or less trustworthy in my opinion. I think the framing is flawed, but that doesn’t discount the concerns with things that are pro-taiwan having such a small presence
I do think a big reason why tiktok is now being held to the flame is the fact there is so much dissent on it. Younger Americans are becoming increasingly anti-israel and more critical of the US’s stance on foreign policy.
Instead of reacting hastily and banning tiktok I think a better action would be placing the same criticisms on domestic companies. Instead, I think we should make companies much more transparent in how they use their algorithms and filter content. Instead of getting upset that one company is censoring, and making them sell to a US company, we should instead prevent censorship more broadly.
Then do an analysis that shows Instagram has a bias and censors certain positions. I have not seen that analysis. There’s a reason the data points to only one social media site censoring views.
The only issue with Meta is how they refused to take down offensive stuff from high-profile conservatives due to political backlash.
You seem to be claiming there’s a fire without even seeing any smoke while simultaneously ignoring the flames in front of your face.
Is the issue their censoring content globally or just at all. Twitter for example is known to cave to local governmental pressure but I suppose its limited to a particular region and people outside of there are still allowed access. Really I'm more disturbed anyone is careless enough to rely on social media for news. It's no secret their all just regurgitating what they or the platform owners want. Most youtubers actively avoid controversial content just to avoid demonitisation; if youre on a platform like truth social id be surprised if you ever get an impartial voice. I literally only scroll tiktok for cute and funny vids.
TikTok isn't doing anything that any other major social media company isn't also doing. The only difference being that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, and not a US one.
Just banning one app does little to resolve the overall privacy and information nightmare that social media is.
Open internet- right- even every website forces you to use the app otherwise it nags you to death or disables features, or just sucks and the app is a mass surveillance collection engine requesting access to every service and sensor on your phone or no-bueno. So open, #open.
I’m all for things being open, but what the major social apps force you to do to use them is basically criminal.
Yeah I get what you’re saying- I’m making the point that for an uncomfortably large portion of the world, including people in America, Facebook/instagram/tiktok IS the internet. We can ensure the pipes are clear all we want, but if the application layer is effectively the access portal and is in itself locked down with an iron fist, we’re ignoring the real and more immediate problem.
One of the great tragedies in tech is wikis/forums/message boards being replaced by discord, an unsearchable, ephemeral, corporately controlled platform. Have a discord/slack/whatever to chat sure, but put your docs out in the open!