Not an expert, but angles the link doesn't explore:<p>1. tiktok is banned <i>in china</i>. Potential product safety angle of 'don't ship us things that aren't legal where they're made'. (But would presumably need new regs here).<p>2. trade policy -- western social media is banned in china, let's at least not allow theirs to sell stuff here? Article says 'tiktok has not monetized so no point in banning transactions', I think they're oversimplifying the impact of saying 'no income at all'<p>3. stronger privacy laws generally -- rules about where data is domiciled (or at least honestly disclosing it), how it is used, real audits, and real penalties for violators. (this should apply to domestic cos too)<p>4. WTO subsidies / anti-dumping? But this probably applies to many tech companies + could escalate badly. Also not sure if tiktok is gov-subsidized -- I think an SOE has a minority stake<p>5. 'kicking them from app stores would have no impact bc of existing install base' feels naive
It's truly disheartening that TikTok usage is even framed at a NatSec issue when we <i>should</i> be self-limiting in the first place. The amount of individual attention that has been robbed from our population through scroll-feeds is sickening. Monopolizing the attention economy will lead to the monopolization of the decision economy. Those who are neck deep in social media will begin to give away their own free will without realizing it.
Asked my teen what they'd switch to if TikTok disappeared. Instagram Reels? YouTube Shorts? Snapchat Spotlight?<p>Response: "Nothing, I'd probably just watch more Netflix"
I find it hard to reconcile framing TikTok as a national security issue when it's by far the least politicized app in the social media space, probably due to the short form video medium and moderation and the focus on entertainment.<p>Also somewhat funny given that Twitter, the most influential social/poliitcal platform is now owned by a guy who praises China directly and is being favorably quoted on Russian state television, with the Saudis becoming the second largest investor. I'd be slightly more concerned about that one.
It's a bit interesting how the first amendment can actually cause security problems in the US.<p>It seems to test the limit of "absolute free speech".<p>I'm not against free speech, but there are people arguing that the first amendment is part of the American culture and identity, but in this particular case, it doesn't seem to work very well.<p>So there is a fine line between "the market of ideas favors virtuous ideas" and "the value of ideas also depends on the ability of state actors to have influence on the market of ideas".
>The United States could ban app stores from offering TikTok for download or purchase.<p>Huh? How can they do this? Just informal pressure on Apple/Google? The government can't just unilaterally direct these companies to ban any disfavored apps, I assume.. or at least I hope.
maybe a dumb question but why not build an alternative ?! there's a real need for something like tiktok but with much more features like payments, commerce, influencer based ads etc. I really it would work, just make something better!
TL;DR: The US Government can't ban TikTok using censorship of speech, so they can/should do it via economic controls instead.<p>Nothing really new here, economic controls are what the previous administration tried to implement, and are most likely to try and use if the government wants to try another round at blocking it.<p>Can't say I'm in favor of that, but then I like my huehuehuehue birb videos.
So I really hate TikTok I think it is a major security risk; however I've recently become worried about the actual mechanism of enforcement getting rid of TikTok.<p>It seems however we do it, blacklisting IPs associated with TikTok, messing with DNS, or pretty much any other actual enforcement mechanism sets a dangerous precedent. I then wonder what happens if we allow the government to start disallowing certain apps for "National Security" reasons, just like when we decided that the NSA should be able to listen to any electronic communication without a warrant to "stop terrorism".<p>Don't get me wrong I despise TikTok and the CCP and think it is bad for mental health and is a weapon of psychological warfare by the CCP, but I am worried about the precedent set by allowing the federal government to ban or make illegal an app and how that will be abused in the future.
[Sort of off topic] While I don't like that Tiktok has close ties to the CCP and I can see the see the potential security threat it poses with manipulated social media trends and spying on it's users. I'm starting to second guess the idea of banning it. At least without a viable replacement.<p>My stance is this, most of the big names coming out for a ban are either conservative leaning institutions or just plain conservative. FBI and Marco Rubio. (I'm old enough to remember a rogue FBI branch pressuring the FBI director to release a scathing report on Hilary Clinton just before the election)<p>I think TikTok is filling a void for Democrat messaging that Republicans/Conservatives have ie: Fox, conservative youtubers, breitbart, etc. The left is doesn't have this and TikTok has been useful for sharing concise information in a repetitive and engaging fashion. I have a hunch it's a large reason why we had such big youth turnout this midterm election cycle.<p>TL;DR: Ban TikTok when there's a good home grown replacement. Or Nationalize it's US/Western wing and spin it off as a separate entity