AIBU to think TikTok should be banned in the UK too?

[User09678]

The Sureme Court has upheld a decision to ban tiktok in the US. Am I unreasonable in thinking the UK should have done the same yesterday? Always puts in mind the opium wars, I'm sure some are more than happy (justifiably so even) to let Western youth utterly rot their minds

We’re bad at voting for scaling up creation and tech

It's much deeper than that - it goes back well over a century. It's part of our social conditioning.

Of course it’s also cost

Many consumers who are wary of China still choose the cheaper option

It's so powerful and established that our allowing British scientists to emigrate could be seen as trying to sabotage foreign projects.

I can’t say I agree with this. Seems like that good old self dislike which is part of our make up at times

Sorry, must stop trying to be jovial. So not MN.

I really can't be arsed to redo all the essays I've written over time looking at the historical reasons for Britains ability to create amazing tech (did you know that the US regarded the research on radar the UK gave them in 1941 as more important than the Manhattan Project with a higher security clearance ?) and then piss away any advantage. However it's a complex brew of attitudes and class. Relying on Lord Handshandy to bankroll your technical advances was never a valid business plan in the long run - but that is about more than mere cost.

Anyway we are where we are. Much more interesting is the fact that SCOTUS denied the TikTok appeal unanimously: 9-0. I would say "for whatever reason" but we know the reason - in word by word detail. They agree it is a threat to US national security.

I'm much more intrigued how something can be deemed a thread to US national security and yet not to UK security.

Some might mention a political dimension. However it's universally agreed that SCOTUS is probably as Trump friendly as it gets. And they (basically) ignored him. With quite serious implications, as it means he now cannot repeal this law without congress.

I don’t mind jovial. I’m not great with the British self dislike which pervades mn at times

On Manhattan project I loved Richard Rhodes book and don’t recall that standing out, there were so many incredible advances

But cat videos!

😀

@Thebogopogopanpacificgrandprix what is your top concern with security?

A quick read shows scant info and many soft kind of phrases on what might be happening

Is this what you’re thinking of

‘Cybersecurity firms have suggested that the app is capable of collecting users' data beyond what they look at on TikTok.’

Or other stuff?

Wow, I'd no idea it was banned in the US That feels a bit oppressive to me but no doubt it's a pretty toxic platform.

"I'm much more intrigued how something can be deemed a thread to US national security and yet not to UK security."

We know exactly what data TikTok harvests and it is the same as every other social media app such as FB and Instagram. It's the price we pay for free use - they find out stuff about us and sell it on. We trust US companies not to use it for nefarious reasons but we don't trust the Chinese.

TikTok has built servers in the US to hold the data of US citizens that they say cannot be accessed by China.

But in the EU they went even further, and further than any other social network - European servers overseen by an independent company. Honestly, I don't know if this also applies to the U.K. or not.

My Twitter feed has changed so much. Follow the same people/interested in the same things but the feed doesn't reflect this and it is full of stuff I don't want to see now. Facebook feels healthier but I no longer see many posts from my friends in the feed - it's all ads and posts that are pushed on me. I only want to see things posted by my friends. But the algorithm is choosing for me. It is not possible to change much through the settings. I know several people who stopped using it because of this.

Several people on this thread have mentioned that they find Tiktok useful as a news source. I don't have Tiktok myself - are there really good news sources on there? I prefer reading something lengthier with more detailed information/context that I can think about and analyse, but I thought Tiktok videos are fairly short?

Fastest growing news source for under 25s.

Mostly snippets but some longer videos, more like the individual segments you'd see on TV news.

Washington Post do some great breakdown skit videos and lots of individual journalists post.

And anyone who thinks this is about mind rot, protecting youth or national security need only look at how many US politicians have bought shares in Meta in the last year or so.

TikTok brings people together, gets them talking about issues the US government would rather they didn't and, more importantly, loses them money.

There are American content creators who make an actual living from their videos (I saw one talking about how he'd gone from living in his Ford car to having a home and driving a cyber truck).

All of the news outlets are on TikTok. Yes the videos are often short to attract attention, but there will be a link to the full article. There are reporters on there from many of the news outlets, with their own accounts, doing deeper dives or explanations, or behind the scenes at their outlet.

There are also a lot of people on there who pull stories from various sources, or focus on stories of a particular type, or claim breaking news. They often appear biased and I don't find them to be reliable. If you show interest in a particular type of news the algorithm recognises you are interested and shows you even more, which is how Reform voters come to think that Farage is hugely popular for example. I prefer to use a verified news source that is held to journalistic standards and checks facts.

It isn't available to US users today but I think it will be back soon as Trump has invited the CEO to his inauguration and said he will 'most likely' offer a reprieve on Monday.

Given that he kicked the whole thing off on grounds of National Security in 2020, I wonder what has changed his mind? I expect it is an opportunity to look heroic and bring TikTok to heel.

Knowing that he was likely to offer a reprieve, I wonder why TikTok decided to 'go dark' for a day or two with a message posted for US users that they basically hoped that Trump would save the day. As the outgoing Democrat administration said, a stunt.

I agree with the timing. Everyone is playing games here. I am sure we will see everyone back within the week. It was quite emotional last night with one person I watch going live and saying goodbye. She makes a living out of baking on TT now. She’s from America and was widowed few years ago and left with 2 daughters to support. She openly says the only thing she’s good at is baking.

@Bargaintools ThatMidwesternMom and B Dylan Hollis are both entertaining bakers.

The latter's goodbye post as quite emotional.

Thankfully it looks like we haven't lost the content, just their access to create more.

One of the accounts I follow gave an emotional goodbye. She is disabled and was able to come off benefits because of the content she is able to post from home. There are a lot of lovely, supportive communities on there.

I'll be glad to see the US accounts again if they return but, if this proves to be a stunt for Trump's benefit, then what a lot of unnecessary worry for those who rely on it for their income.

Also hear this morning that our profile pictures on insta, fb and TikTok all now have a little thought bubble above them, as if they are linked. No idea what that means.

As PP's have said all the main news outlets are on there as well as a lot of journalists doing deeper dives, Victoria Derbyshire for example does a lot of videos explaining current news stories in really simple terms/going back into the history of why something may be happening so that younger audiences or people not necessarily interested in the news can gain an understanding of what's happening.

Anyone thinking that it's all just great and there's no propaganda or anything sinister on TikTok should remember that when the youth of America were surveyed, 20% of them had a positive view of Osama bin Laden, presumably because his 'Letter to America' had gone viral on TikTok.

Or rather, his letter hadn't gone viral, videos of tearful teens who said they had changed their entire view of the US and now thought bin Laden was right to destroy the Twin Towers went viral.

If you actually read the Letter to America, it's batshit awful drivel, full of antisemitism and hate, and is also really boring so I doubt these teens were actually reading it at all.

Every news source is propaganda really.
Look at the different ways this mornings ceasefire delay has been reported by different news outlets.

Doesn't mean we should remove any of these sources because that is censorship.

So in war we shouldn't try to stop the enemy dropping propaganda leaflets of lies on the population because 'that's censorship'?

But that's a completely different situation to what I posted.

I'm talking about the information that is getting out to the general public about different situations through msm.
In th ideal world information would be presented in a factual non biased way but it is not so why is it only TikTok that is being banned.

I'm talking about the information that is getting out to the general public about different situations through msm.

If you don't think that there is a massive propaganda drive going on here, I can't help you.

Incidentally, Musk is doing exactly the same thing with the platform that he owns with his massive propaganda drive against the UK government (and others).