Political Discussion

I think the Tiktok ban possibly handed the election to Trump. I know, as an avid Tiktok user, my wife is pretty pissed off that the connection to her neuro-diverse, EDS-having community is being threatened (though she'll still begrudgingly pull the level for Biden).

I don't think it'll hold up in court, though.
 
Welp, Biden signed it. Personally, I wouldn't have.

Also...it's not enforceable....right? You can take it off the marketplace but you can't take it off my phone. Just seems like it's ripe for escalating a whole lot before TikTok is sold or the ban is repealed.
 
mrjoshuamccormack said:
I think the Tiktok ban possibly handed the election to Trump. I know, as an avid Tiktok user, my wife is pretty pissed off that the connection to her neuro-diverse, EDS-having community is being threatened (though she'll still begrudgingly pull the level for Biden).

I don't think it'll hold up in court, though.
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Hopefully people realize that Trump tried to ban it as well when he was President, so I'm not sure voting for him over this issue will make much difference.
 
Bull Shannon said:
Welp, Biden signed it. Personally, I wouldn't have.

Also...it's not enforceable....right? You can take it off the marketplace but you can't take it off my phone. Just seems like it's ripe for escalating a whole lot before TikTok is sold or the ban is repealed.
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Yeah I don't totally understand the mechanics here (partially because I don't totally understand whose jurisdiction this falls under) but could the relevant cabinet agency turn around and declare they have no plans to enforce it?
 
TrainFan73 said:
I get the ban bit, I don’t recall another situation where the American government told another government to sell something or gtfo. I think it’s a dangerous precedent
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Nah, it’s fine. That precedent has long been set. Other tech/defense companies have been put in similar positions, selling is always an option. Most of the time people don’t give a shit because it’s not social media.

I wish the government would pay more attention to Social Media entities regardless of who owns them but this in and of itself isn’t a big deal. Either They will sell to another company or they will be banned and another social media entity will start offering up what TikTok was offering.
 
mrjoshuamccormack said:
I think the Tiktok ban possibly handed the election to Trump.
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Come on now. This is like when some suggested Biden was gonna lose in 2020 because he’s gonna pass tougher regulation on Vape.

If you are an avid TikTok user your gonna be annoyed but if you going to vote to end democracy because you have to fuck around on Reels instead of TikTok then we deserve the hand we’re dealt.

Israel-Palestine conflict, no.

Abortion ban, nah.

I based my vote on TikTok ban passed in a bi-partisan congressional vote. Only Trump can save us now.
 
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Bull Shannon said:
Welp, Biden signed it. Personally, I wouldn't have.

Also...it's not enforceable....right? You can take it off the marketplace but you can't take it off my phone. Just seems like it's ripe for escalating a whole lot before TikTok is sold or the ban is repealed.
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It’s part of the Ukraine aid package bill. He doesn’t have a line item veto. No way he was gonna veto the bill.

The House/Senate/POTUS for both parties overwhelmingly agree that this is a legit security risk. Those assholes can’t agree on anything and they all support this. I am willing to trust the people with security clearance in this instance.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
Nah, it’s fine. That precedent has long been set. Other tech/defense companies have been put in similar positions, selling is always an option. Most of the time people don’t give a shit because it’s not social media.

I wish the government would pay more attention to Social Media entities regardless of who owns them but this in and of itself isn’t a big deal. Either They will sell to another company or they will be banned and another social media entity will start offering up what TikTok was offering.
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I’m coming up with nothing useful so far searching the internet. But it’s not the selling of a company that raises concern here but telling another sovereign nation’s business that it needs to sell or else that I find interesting here. This isn’t a us business.

I agree on the social media front actually, but then it would open the doors for vast internet freedom to be eroded.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
It’s part of the Ukraine aid package bill. He doesn’t have a line item veto. No way he was gonna veto the bill.

The House/Senate/POTUS for both parties overwhelmingly agree that this is a legit security risk. Those assholes can’t agree on anything and they all support this. I am willing to trust the people with security clearance in this instance.
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I’m not proposing a line-item veto; it’s not unheard of for the president to veto a bill because extra, unrelated/corrupt items were shoehorned in.

Also, I’ve seen no actual proof tiktok specifically is a security risk. The hearings regarding this matter were a total farce.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
Come on now. This is like when some suggested Biden was gonna lose in 2020 because he’s gonna pass tougher regulation on Vape.

If you are an avid TikTok user your gonna be annoyed but if you going to vote to end democracy because you have to fuck around on Reels instead of TikTok then we deserve the hand we’re dealt.

Israel-Palestine conflict, no.

Abortion ban, nah.

I based my vote on TikTok ban passed by a bipartisan vote passed in a bi-partisan congressional vote. Only Trump can save us now.
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It just encourages disengagement in the process. Even though it's a misunderstanding of our political system, as Biden has no input on SCOTUS, he's blamed for the downfall of Roe. The ban is just the cherry on top of the anger around that and the Israel-Palestine conflict. I'd imagine some see it as the government not actually working for them, so there's point in even trying.

To call it "fucking around" is pretty dismissive of the power of a social media platform. Besides a whole lot of content creators, who have a monetary interest, it's a part of finding community/information for plenty of folks. Like I previously mentioned, it's seen as a reflection of the government not listening to the people.
 
Bull Shannon said:
I’m not proposing a line-item veto; it’s not unheard of for the president to veto a bill because extra, unrelated/corrupt items were shoehorned in.

Also, I’ve seen no actual proof tiktok specifically is a security risk. The hearings regarding this matter were a total farce.
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www.newsweek.com

Biden plans to spend billions replacing China-made cranes at US ports

Rear Adm. Jay Vann said the move was based on intelligence related to China's interests in disrupting U.S. critical infrastructure.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com

That is just due to some software backdoor built into some crane software.

You think TikTok hasn’t been compromised by the Chinese government? I don’t trust the US Governments motives in a lot of cases but I trust the Chinese governments motives even less so.
 
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mrjoshuamccormack said:
To call it "fucking around" is pretty foolishly dismissive of the power of a social media platform.
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I am fine with that. I don’t feel like I am being “foolishly dismissive” but have been called worse.

I have been on social media for at least half my life at this point. I enjoy it for the most part but it’s a time waster. Friendster, My Space, Twitter, etc.. social media comes and goes the world keeps moving, right on to the next new shiny distraction.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
utv44.com

U.S. to invest billions replacing cranes built in China due to cybersecurity threat

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to strengthen cybersecurity at U.S. ports. Roughly 80% of the cranes used to lift and haul cargo off shi
utv44.com utv44.com

That is just due to some software backdoor built into some crane software.

You think TikTok hasn’t been compromised by the Chinese government? I don’t trust the US Governments motives in a lot of cases but I trust the Chinese governments motives even less so.
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I don't read "software backdoor" from that article; the idea that the software is susceptible to cyberattacks and the idea that it comes from China are two different things imo.

I've said it before: the TikTok ban reeks of "China bad" jingoism and a desire to control the flow of information (keep in mind kids get their news from tiktok, news free from police/government spin); we're concerned about yet-to-be-proven, hypothetical security risks because the software is built by our biggest economic competitor, not because it's provably dangerous software. Any justification for restrictions or regulations can be applied to the social media and technology space at large. Restrictions and regulations which I'm in support of, by the way: facebook and twitter have had a deleterious effect on political discourse and the movement/manipulation of information, and could be easily pointed to when it comes to the rise of MAGA, the Proud Boys, and other more immediate threats to American democracy.
 
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TenderLovingKiller® said:
I am fine with that. I don’t feel like I am being “foolishly dismissive” but have been called worse.

I have been on social media for at least half my life at this point. I enjoy it for the most part but it’s a time waster. Friendster, My Space, Twitter, etc.. social media comes and goes the world keeps moving, right on to the next new shiny distraction.
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I apologize for the "foolishly" choice of wording; I didn't mean that to be a personal attack, hence the editing of the original post.
 
Bull Shannon said:
I don't read "software backdoor" from that article; the idea that the software is susceptible to cyberattacks and the idea that it comes from China are two different things imo.

I've said it before: the TikTok ban reeks of "China bad" jingoism; we're concerned about yet-to-be-proven, hypothetical security risks because the software is built by our biggest economic competitor, not because it's provably dangerous software. Any justification for restrictions or regulations can be applied to the social media and technology space at large. Restrictions and regulations which I'm in support of, by the way: facebook and twitter have had a deleterious effect on political discourse and the movement/manipulation of information, and could be easily pointed to when it comes to the rise of MAGA, the Proud Boys, and other more immediate threats to American democracy.
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The Chinese people are not bad. The Chinese government is a different thing entirely.
 
I’m still lost on the train of thought with how voting Biden out solves the issues that matter to non-conservative voters.

These issues under Trump probably look like this:
  • Inflation: don’t imagine Trump will do anything that cuts into corp profits. At best he yells at the Fed to lower rates?
  • Gas: He starts on-shore drilling? But I assume this cuts into Saudi profits and as we’ve seen the Saudis can flood or constrain the market on a whim
  • Gaza: Zero incentive to criticize Netanyahu or intervene. Could see him send more aid to Israel at the expense of Palestinian lives.
  • TikTok: Does he even care? This seems like it should be beneficial to Truth Social and based on past anti-China rhetoric he’ll support the ban. Seems like congress will pass this without presidential support.
  • Abortion: Zero incentive to protect it. Would expect more ideological judge appointments that will further restrict access.
  • LGBTQ rights: Sure as shit not support this and see above.
  • Climate Change: Again no incentive to address this. More incentive to continue pushing climate impacting policies
  • Immigration: We know is xenophobia will prevail
History has shown Trump has no problem letting others define policy and those individuals will also pursue self serving interests.

I’ll acknowledge Biden doesn’t have the answers or likely unilateral authority to “fix” all of the above but I believe he, his subordinates (Secratries, Departments, etc) will at least put up a fight and attempt to make changes.

What happened with SCOTUS judges should be enough of a concern to deter people from letting Trump have 4 more years at the helm. The longer term generational impacts should be a major concern.
 
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