• fluxion@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I feel like specifically targeting TikTok rather than more general protections for privacy and data collection is theatrics

    But it’s hard to listen to China bitch and moan about this when they arbitrarily ban US services on a regular basis for much more inane reasons

    • aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com
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      6 months ago

      The big issue other than data collection is the platform’s censorship of topics the CCP doesn’t want discussed (Taiwan/Hong Kong independence, Uighur genocide, CCP corruption, widespread industrial espionage) and the amplification of topics seen as divisive/polarizing/destabilizing to western nations as part of the CCP’s propaganda policy.

      • fluxion@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Which is another area where it makes no sense to single out TikTok since foreign countries can easily manipulate US media companies to do the same.

        • aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com
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          6 months ago

          Foreign ownership of broadcast media is already restricted (see https://www.fcc.gov/general/foreign-ownership-rules-and-policies-common-carrier-aeronautical-en-route-and-aeronautical ), and I am not aware of any other foreign owned social media outlets with significant market penetration into the US. Are you?

          Also, “can” is substantially different from “is currently, as supported by evidence, outlined as part of a documented propaganda plan by a known bad-faith strategic opponent”

          • fluxion@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            “US media companies” not foreign-owned. For example Russian propaganda regularly makes it’s way into channels like Fox News, you just need to incentivize 1 host, or 1 politician, or 1 guest. And online influence campaigns can still be driven by bots and fake accounts (e.g. twitter) but there are no laws in place that even begin to try to reign that in.

            Fixating on TikTok, is a small and limited check on a much larger and more general problem that nobody in congress actually seems to care about.

            It’s so arbitrary and limited that im not gonna assume anyone that worked on this actually cares about achieving any major objective other than banning tiktok.