It matters whether the government can do things like this at all, because if they can do it to TikTok, they can do it to anyone and anything else. TikTok may or may not be a good platform, that doesn’t matter at all.

All the reasons people cite for supporting the ban are problems with other social media platforms.

Also I think it’s pretty dumb to support government censorship over cringe.

Regardless of how we feel about TikTok (I dont like it either for the same reasons)

The ban isn’t about privacy violations by the owning corporation or because of challenges or mental health, but rather that the US government (directly or by proxy through the owning corporation) isnt the one in control of the information collected or the algorithms.

Due to its younger user base and lack of US based corporate interests, things that US corporations would normally block, remove or downplay with their algorithms are allowed. This means the culture and information that would normally dissapear from US media and social media instead on tiktok tends to be much more liberal and available. On the other hand, information critical of china or contrary to their culture may be less visible, and your information is getting tracked by china instead of the us.

This difference was exemplified in the wake of the United Healthcare CEOs assasination. Traditional US media was extremely critical of the shooter, and dropped any presumption of Luigi’s innocence or deniability prior to the conclusion of his court case. Comments and posts were removed for displaying anything other than giving him the death penalty (hyperbole, but). They denied that there was a problem and downplayed peoples concerns with the US healthcare system and billionaires.

TikTok on the other hand (and smaller social media sites like on the fediverse) showed immense support for Luigi, and expressed their disdain for the US healthcare system and the ruling class.

Same for the war in ukraine, especially for the genocide in gaza perpetrated by Israel on the Palestinians.

The government and ruling class is upset that they dont have the personal and tracking information of TikTok users, that they cant control the algorithm, and cant ask the company to stop showing things that make them look bad or could potentially be used to create a movement against them. Its those very trends that travel quickly through tiktok that have the potential to be dangerous to them.

Honestly you’re wrong. Tiktok has a lot of slop but it also has a lot of the front line reporting about social movements and crimes that Reddit thinks it has or maybe used to have.

I agree with and support TikTok being banned as I believe it’s a detriment to society, and the sole reason why I’m okay with the government doing it is because they refuse to sell the company to some shell US one which would be more privy to our government’s oversight. If ByteDance were in it for the money, selling to a US shell company and trying to get as much money back to China as possible from the #1 social media app in the world would be THE priority. They flatly refuse to sell, so it’s not about the money, and that’s suspicious to me.

The only people who support the ban are boot licking idiots who don’t know the real reason why it’s being banned in the first place. The only reason TikTok is being banned is Marky Mark and Muskrat don’t like competition to their own platforms. Platforms they are happy to censor for the US government’s own devices. TikTok isn’t doing anything other social media platforms are doing as far as data collection, they are just not based in the USA so Uncle Sam can’t step in and demand the data. The whole thing is a production of hypocrisy and goose stepping politics.

TikTok apparently pays creators significantly more than other apps.

Because it’s clearly being banned, not because of privacy violations, not because of the nefarious impact of a foreign government, but because of the content that is shared on it. It is the only major social media platform with a strong pro-Palestinian viewpoint on it. And the people in Congress have been caught on camera explicitly stating this is why they want to ban it.

I hate Tiktok. I don’t use it. Never have. But I still don’t want to see the US turn its internet into the Great Firewall of China 2.0.

The leaders in Congress cannot stand the idea of there being a social media platform that is popular in the US that isn’t hosted in the US. Why? The answer is simple - control. All the US social media platforms are heavily influenced by the US government. Hell, most of them openly contract with the NSA. Facebook is an NSA contractor. These platforms get a ton of money from the US government. And despite what conservatives bitch at in regards to “being censored,” the real censorship is against anything that doesn’t advance US power and influence. Outside of Tiktok, the major platforms heavily censor pro-Palestinian messages and stories. Go to r/worldnews and post anything other than “Palestinians deserve to be vaporized,” and you’ll be banned within 5 minutes. It’s literally that bad. Even when outright bans aren’t in place, the platforms will severely down shift any pro-Palestinian content and keep it out of peoples’ feeds.

“Beware of he would would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master.”

there’s also an economic problem with banning tiktok: tens of millions of americans rely on it as a source of income and its banning will effectively become the biggest layoff in american history and will have detrimental impacts to our already fraught economic situation.

Tiktok has been useful for several groups that are normally extremely supressed with other algorithmic social media. Tiktok isn’t geared towards the “what will make you angry therefore keep scrolling” or “what will make you buy more things” motivations that facebook et. al. are geared towards, so it will actually show you things you care about. It also has a tendency to show you opposing viewpoints from time to time, which makes it surprisingly useful for deprogramming people from misinformation.

For people with specific medical disorders or conditions, tiktok was excellent for finding others and sharing information. For people of different minorities that are normally supressed on social media, it was excellent for building community.

So sure, if all you watch on it was dancing teenagers, that’s what you are gonna get: Vine 2.0. If you curate your feed a little then it’d help you branch out from your interests without the primary goal of keeping your eyes peeled to it or grabbing more ad revenue.

if you are part of a group that tiktok was basically the only social media network that had ever been helpful for, it’s a big deal that it’s going away. Its not about the format of the videos, but the algorithm and its focus on your interests rather than making money.

It’s one of the only platforms that doesn’t actively suppress left wing views with its algorithm.

I’d be fine with EU style regulations on social media, or depending on how it’s written, a more broader ban of social media in general. But banning tiktok only will do nothing to address the concerns you raised. Instead it just funnels people into social media ecosystems that greatly favor right wing sentiment and allow easy access for the 3 letter agencies.

It’s about maintaining the ability to manufacturer consent. Tiktok presents a hurdle to that.

I thought the ban was a threat. What they really want is the success of Tiktok to be owned by the US. That’s why they were happy at one point if Tiktok sold to a US company.

Made in the USA… or taken by force.

Because Loops isn’t ready for primetime yet.

Look, TikTok is trash, but clearly the people championing this ban don’t care at all about data privacy or social media manipulation. Ban none, or ban them all.

The one true way to resolve this issue (IMO) is to pass a digital bill of rights, regulating these social media corporations, and forcing them to make their products safe for all ages.

Banning one of many is pissing in the wind, and I don’t enjoy urine in my face (no judgement if that’s your thing, it’s just not mine).

It’s about your rights.

I want to decide if tik tok is a horrible thing that I don’t want to use and then choose not to use it. I don’t need the government telling me what is okay and not okay. I’m a grown up and can make that decision for myself.

Cheat sheet: look at all government policies and politicians this way. Regardless if you agree or disagree with the topic/results look at what idea or concept or precedence it sets forth and decide from there. (I personally hate tik tok for many reasons, both socio and political in nature and think it should be burned from he earth - but I don’t support a ban on it) Second cheat sheet: if after that analysis you decide you support an idea, then ask how it gets paid for (whats the soirce of the financing) and who’s in charge of it (how the money gets spent) and what checks and measures are in place to keep it productive (how it gets regulated).