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

i don’t use it but it should not be banned. It’s ridiculous that it could be in the US. Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t make it bad

It's not banned on their personal devices - they don't 'know something we don't know'. It was banned on government devices as a precautionary measure prior to a full app review. This is because when you use TikTok you give the app access to your contacts and location - like many apps.

Same, also lots of comedy, book recs, music and fitness/lifestyle motivation. You literally build your own FYP with the videos you interact with so if it’s dross or rot you’re watching.. that’s on you 😂

It was banned nearly 2 years ago...

If people don't think that the Chinese would use apps to spy on foreign nations then that seems particularly naive.

They seem very keen to control a lot of our infrastructure too - remember our mobile phone network is so shit now because Huawei equipment had to be removed from the 3G and 4G networks.

It causes brain damage. That's bad. Some people sound like drug enjoyers, insisting that because they like their heroin use and they can't see the issue with it it's all good.

"If people don't think that the Chinese would use apps to spy on foreign nations then that seems particularly naive."

Yet only TikTok is banned. Why is that do you think? Not other Chinese apps. Not other ByteDance apps.

Yes, two years ago on government devices due to access to contacts and location.

And why was Huawei equipment removed from the mobile phone networks? Concern over access to contacts and location?

"It causes brain damage. That's bad. Some people sound like drug enjoyers, insisting that because they like their heroin use and they can't see the issue with it it's all good."

170 million US regular users. Many of whom make a living from their content. Many real life businesses have been turned around after marketing on TikTok. Of course people will be upset. Particularly when the 'National security' reason is what fascist regimes have used for decades to ban Western 'propoganda' and we laugh at them.

I wonder if I’m using it wrong? I look occasionally at TikTok but it’s all health and wellness. Should I be seeing something else?

"And why was Huawei equipment removed from the mobile phone networks? Concern over access to contacts and location?"

I'm debating TikTok.

Yes. It'll show you lots of random stuff. You can follow accounts you like, or search for similar ones. It will start to show you things the algorithm thinks you'll like, and bases this on your engagement. You can long press and hit 'not interested' if it's something you definitely don't want to see.

It will be for a day or so until Trump let's it back in to be seen as a saviour anyway.

I think it will be interesting to see what will happen without the Americans on a platform. Not long enough to see any real impacts though.

How does finding new recipes to cook or watching relaxing ASMR to help you sleep cause brain damage?

But the Huawei debate is intrinsically linked to the tiktok debate. Both are Chinese owned tech companies that the west has decided pose a risk to security. China is a hostile nation to the West, there is no getting around that.

Because needing tech to help you sleep is damaging!

So is medication but I don't see you calling for a ban on that! Ok so what about people who don't watch It to help them sleep. People who watch health related content or use it to learn new skills such as coking, DIY, excel tips etc, how is that causing brain damage?

It's the short attention spans and hits of dopamine, links to ADHD and inattention disorders as well as social problems such as eye contact.

That's not the subject of this thread though. Tech usage is proven to damage your sleep cycles, the more tech you use the poorer quality your sleep, the more anxious and depressed you become, the more reliant on tech you become. Ditch the tech, go outside and walk around for an hour or more if you're not sleeping.

Yes, I am interested to see that someone doesn’t join the dots between huawei being removed from UK mobile phone network infrastructure and TikTok being banned from many government’s devices.

Everyone who thinks they have ADHD should be put on a scrolling ban for 3 months before they're allowed on the assessment waiting list.

Because cat videos

Well, I guess that as of Sunday night, the US govt is going to find out what happens when you remove both the bread and the circus...

The content you are presented with becomes tailored according to what you interact with.

I get a lot of political content, some high quality from academic specialists that I would not have found easily on other platforms. So for that reason I like it in small doses.

Some US content creators make content that is critical of or counter to the Republican world view. For example anti capitalist or feminist content - what I noticed is that this kind of content seems to be gaining traction with other Americans.

One thing is for sure, a lot of Americans using the app have woken up to how utterly terrible their healthcare system is in comparison to European models.

My TikTok is lovely. Lots of highland cows, of people hand feeding birds in woods and forests, of people feeding urban foxes. I follow Whipsnade Zoo and find out behind-the-scenes stuff.

I've found some lovely recipes, and I love watching the professional cleaners who do free cleans for vulnerable people. And strangely, the people who go around cleaning up filthy road signs!

I have found new music to listen to (Myles Smith promoted himself brilliantly on TikTok), have found "hidden gems" to visit and learned a lot from DIY how-to videos from professionals.

I watch TikTok while I'm cooking, using the auto scroll button so I don't have to touch my phone.

I will miss the American creators that I follow, but I have plenty of others to watch.

My life wouldn't be badly affected if TikTok was banned in the UK, but I will continue to watch as long as it's there.

The people (any platform) saying that your own feed or content is lovely ‘so long as you avoid looking at ‘trending’‘ etc sound very unconcerned about the billions of people (and kids) who do look at trending and are then shown all kinds of absolutely horrific and misleading stuff.

Obviously it’s good that you’re happy to put your own seatbelt on for yourself, but..