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

@SemperIdem
But the algorithm is self made so really tells you quite a lot about a person

When I go on TikTok it plays more and more cheese - I got Russ Abbot's Atmosphere and Chas and Dave last time 😂❤️

I’ve found some very interesting content on TikTok. Like anything, it depends on the user.

There’s plenty of scope for other social
media sites like mumsnet to rot one’s mind. Again - depends on the user.

I’m still to hear of anything positive coming out of people having TikTok

Many Americans believe they are the world’s most free people. Tik tok is a problem because it allowed Americans to genuinely talk freely about their country and it wasn’t always good stuff. It had to be stopped before certain views and ideas spread.

They will find an American based owner, one of those ones who’ve been being the knee at Mar-a-largo. This person will change algorithms so none of the ‘anti-American’ stuff is shown, the brain rot content will remain and then quickly content promoting culture wars, misogyny and racism will be promoted.

Mine is full of things like Clarkson's Farm, The Grand Tour & The Nursery Nurse, all things I watch. Ticktock shop is great for things like health supplements, cheaper than Amazon even though they deliver most of the stuff.

I'm suspicious. One thing we do know is that governments are actively trying to control what is available to us on SM and what we are allowed to speak about - see Mark Zuckerberg's statement on controlled speech on META. He went on Joe Rogan and described how members of the US government were in regular contact with staff at META, even screaming at them, trying to control what was being spoken about. Tik Tok is up there with "X" and FB in terms of influence. Who's next after TT is banned? Politicians can't get away with the shady shit they always used to, now their only weapon is labelling everything they don't like as "disinformation". Many of them would love to see SM gone or inaccessible by the ignorant proles who hold the power of their vote.

I am not on TT by the way, feels like too much stupid dross to wade through before I can get to anything that actually interests me.

I'm a hypocrite because I used to slag people off who used it when it first came out but now I'm addicted to it! 😅 it's great if you have a hobby such as baking, cooking and crafting because there are tonnes of videos on there. I know people say look on YouTube for videos but I think TikTok is way better.

I love TikTok. Anyone saying that it's rubbish doesn't understand how it works.

It connects you to the things you are interested in. Mine is mostly books, art, academics, cooking, gardening and dogs.

I follow comedians who make me laugh, people doing my job for the camaraderie and tips, news sites and some politics.

I've recently been trying to decide whether to buy an expensive bag so I watched people deconstructing it, a leather worker reviewing the quality, and reviews.

They're banning it in the US because their citizens - 80% of whom don't own a passport - are realising that most of the world don't have to pay for an ambulance and get paid maternity and annual leave, that their foreign policy makes them unpopular in lots of places and China is a developed country.

It's a disgrace that it's being banned, akin to book burning.

I don't think it should be banned at all. I rarely use it now but I used to and it was full of news, history, information and funny stuff. I'm wondering what kind of person creates an algorithm that is risky and that is down to that person, not TikTok.

Banning it is too much of a nanny state for me and watching those yanks ask the CEO at the time the most ridiculous questions because they didn't understand it at all shows them up and as the people to avoid. Again, not TikTok.

Do we just ban anything we think isn't good for young adult minds now? Which books, movies, computer games? Maybe ban iPads for toddlers too. Some music too, like when they didn't like Rock & Roll in the 50s. Free countries shouldn't censor anything unless it is discriminatory or encourages criminal activity.

Up to the US for them but in answer to your op no it shouldn’t be banned here

@Adamante makrs a fair point. Politicians will have to deal with more ground level SM having a voice

I would love to see it banned here, and X too - that’s slightly more Musk related, but I feel the platform is widely used to spread hate and breed intolerance.

I also love tiktok, gain new tips and skills for hobbies, recipes, music i have been introduced to, i love the lady do does the historic family trees of royalty etc, and there a young man who photographs mushrooms in UK woodlands. So much is obscure and educational, its a great platform.

it quite literally saved my daughters mental health. She is in a group of people who share her hobby, shes found people like her, she goes live abd uploads and its massively boosted her confidence. How she spends her time is quite niche, its opened her world up.

I find it sad for americans. Has anyone seen the SBmowing story and Beth. He has in the space of a few days changed the life of that old lady for the better. She can make her home accesible for her needs, get healthcare, hes got her a lawyer to protect her. Its changed her life for the better. Thats one story. Therell be thousands of similar storys. Not all SM is bad.

I joined for a few months and the thing that made me leave was the Jay Slater sad death. One day I flicked through the lives to find all these calls with multiple ‘callers’ all chipping in their wild theories. Middle age women mainly. When someome told them to get a job, a few said they were disabled and this was their socialising. The amount of lies I saw being portrayed as news was scary.

But poisoning the mind isn’t the reason its getting banned anyway but it definitely poisons young people’s lives.

I find it extraordinary that the land of "free speech" and blah blah blah is banning tik tok.

But I guess the Zuck and Musk types don't want the competition.

@LolaLouise who is the royal family tree account please?

I love tiktok. For interesting, educational stuff like this. And funny cat videos!

👏 👏 👏

suzieedge / Dr Suzie Edge I love her videos

Banning it is fine, I have no idea as I don’t really use it. My DS seems to watch a lot about FC25 on there. But…if you ban it how do you stop the next one, and the next one etc. it almost becomes pointless as there will always be another all to replace it.

I would like to see some of the evidence that the US apparently have that the app owners can access non-app information from your device.
If it’s just a rumour, then why aren’t Apple saying so?

They want to ban it for security reasons, not because they are protecting young minds.
Most answers here have missed the entire point.

What about newspapers/news channels/books/podcasts etc? How do we decide which ones should be banned? Who decides?

Well it has already backfired. Remember what happens when you refuse to talk to teens and simply ban them from seeing their favourite shows or dating that person you don't like?

And don't forget many Americans had huge followings and made money via TT

Gen Z Americans are going to other Chinese apps. Even more pro-china apps like Red Wall... apparently.

So now what?

Banning it is fine, I have no idea as I don’t really use it.

If you can't see what is terribly wrong with that statement, I despair. I assume you're also happy with books being banned if you don't read them?

Because its owned by a hostile state who are delighted that so many are willing to share their data, cognitively impair themselves and destabilise their country.