| CURRENT EVENTS Thoughts on Congress voting to "ban Tic-Tok?"

[TerryP]

When it comes to protecting my privacy and the "data" surrounding my life, I'm all for "stay the hell out." (The GDPR is an interesting approach/read.)

Here? With a legislative action to "ban" apps under the guise this is about Tic-Tok?

H.E.L.L. NO! This has markings of the abuse we've seen under the Patriot Act, in spades. This "legislation" isn't limited to Tic-Tok or Bytedance. The language includes everything: blogs, web sites, apps, you name the medium.

On the lighter side of things ... banning a Chinese app because of the propaganda? Is this another shot against Capitalism because the US Government doesn't like competition?

The government is trying to control social media, once again. (I misspelled censor.)

 

[XXL TideFan]

H.E.L.L. NO! This has markings of the abuse we've seen under the Patriot Act, in spades. This "legislation" isn't limited to Tic-Tok or Bytedance. The language includes everything: blogs, web sites, apps, you name the medium.

9/11 was an inside job. Had to have a reason for the Patriot Act. The gov isn’t your friend & would just as soon see you dead.

 

[ElephantStomp]

I’m 100% against this stupid bill and members of congress are gaslighting citizens believing we’re too stupid to understand

 

[24and7]

9/11 was an inside job. Had to have a reason for the Patriot Act. The gov isn’t your friend & would just as soon see you dead.

So was Jan 6th.. The ones that showed up that wasn’t a part of the psyop, went to jail..

 

[TerryP]

I’m 100% against this stupid bill and members of congress are gaslighting citizens believing we’re too stupid to understand

It's not limited to the members of Congress. The current administration has already banned the app for government employees saying it is a security threat.

One point here: it likely is a security threat for a lot of those folks up on the Hill and inside the beltway. When it comes to privacy...not a good track record from that ilk.

 

[OldPlayer]

The biggest issue is China’s access to all of the data. Bytedance isn’t an independent company. It’s owned by the Chinese government (as pretty much everything is in China since they’re a Communist country). Access to the data (your email address, location, IP address, likes, comments) merged with AI can wreak havoc at any time, especially during an election year. I’ve worked in the data world for 30+ years and know how companies start with seemingly innocuous data and can turn it into amazingly accurate targeting to get someone to buy something.

 

[OldPlayer]

It's not limited to the members of Congress. The current administration has already banned the app for government employees saying it is a security threat.

One point here: it likely is a security threat for a lot of those folks up on the Hill and inside the beltway. When it comes to privacy...not a good track record from that ilk.

And yet Biden is using the app to promote his campaign.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-tiktok-campaign-taylor-swift-c686631206fdadbc1038c2521a669375

 

[ElephantStomp]

It's not limited to the members of Congress. The current administration has already banned the app for government employees saying it is a security threat.

One point here: it likely is a security threat for a lot of those folks up on the Hill and inside the beltway. When it comes to privacy...not a good track record from that ilk.

I 100% agree with you! He already said he supports the stupid bill. They (the government) doesn’t like the app and it has nothing to do with China. Nobody is forcing all those jackoffs to use it, but almost 200 million voters do use the app.

This is one area where you and I are going to agree

 

[ElephantStomp]

The biggest issue is China’s access to all of the data. Bytedance isn’t an independent company. It’s owned by the Chinese government (as pretty much everything is in China since they’re a Communist country). Access to the data (your email address, location, IP address, likes, comments) merged with AI can wreak havoc at any time, especially during an election year. I’ve worked in the data world for 30+ years and know how companies start with seemingly innocuous data and can turn it into amazingly accurate targeting to get someone to buy something.

The biggest issue has been taken care of and has been for over a year. US data is kept by an independent third party (Oracle) in Virginia and the Chinese government has no control of that data nor can they access it unless the American company give them access.

The biggest issue now is politicians from both parties shitting on the constitution and our right to free speech. They don’t like it because the government wants to control what we hear, see, listen to, and how we as citizens congregate.

 

[TerryP]

And yet Biden is using the app to promote his campaign.

Biden's campaign joins TikTok, even as administration warns of national security concerns with app

This may be the one part of this story I find amusing.

 

[24and7]

Maybe the government should mandate everyone buy a kite.. how people forget those simple pleasures..

 

[musso]

It’s owned by the Chinese government (as pretty much everything is in China since they’re a Communist country)

It's not owned by the Chinese government. And China isn't a Communist country.

 

[alabamajack]

As much as I think that any social media outlet can be a bad thing and horrid things can be found there, downright banning tiktok could set a dangerous precedent.

 

[OldPlayer]

It's not owned by the Chinese government. And China isn't a Communist country.

Government of China - Wikipedia

 

[musso]

Government of China - Wikipedia

North Korea and Cuba are as close to communist as we have in the world. Nixon [re]opened China to Western investment and economic partnership in trade and debt purchases. Yes China is ruled by a single party, CCP, communist in name only. Yes it’s authoritarian but not communist. Compare the CCP to our CIA. They have billionaires and magnates who rule the country just like ours, not a people’s republic ruled by the proletariat.

 

[24and7]

North Korea and Cuba are as close to communist as we have in the world. Nixon [re]opened China to Western investment and economic partnership in trade and debt purchases. Yes China is ruled by a single party, CCP, communist in name only. Yes it’s authoritarian but not communist. Compare the CCP to our CIA. They have billionaires and magnates who rule the country just like ours, not a people’s republic ruled by the proletariat.

China’s financial system is collapsing like ours..That is what happens when you take trillions in IOUs …All countries are trying to get into a war time /war plan economy, just like WW2.. it has be estimated that China has over seven to ten military divisions in our country right now..

 

[OldPlayer]

North Korea and Cuba are as close to communist as we have in the world. Nixon [re]opened China to Western investment and economic partnership in trade and debt purchases. Yes China is ruled by a single party, CCP, communist in name only. Yes it’s authoritarian but not communist. Compare the CCP to our CIA. They have billionaires and magnates who rule the country just like ours, not a people’s republic ruled by the proletariat.

It’s in the name - CCP. (officially CPC - the Communist Party of China). It doesn’t matter how Communist it is. The CIA is not a form of government.

 

[RTB Twitter Bot]

 

[musso]

It’s in the name - CCP. (officially CPC - the Communist Party of China)

You're proving my point. I literally said, "in name only."

It doesn’t matter how Communist it is.

Uh if you intend on calling a country communist, capitalist, socialist, etc., yes it does matter. Words matter because they have meaning. Private ownership and wealth creation has exploded in China over the last decade or two as the economy liberalized. Communist economies don't do this. Communist countries don't manufacture everything for the US, and they don't buy our debt accommodating our government's addiction to spending. Calling China communist 50 years after Mao is as ridiculous as calling the US capitalistic in 2024.

The CIA is not a form of government

Never said it was. The CCP isn't a form of government either. Both are essentially the ruling parties or factions of their respective countries. Ours allows a bit more debate and diversity of opinion domestically but less in our satellites. Theirs allows less freedom domestically but more in their satellites. Such is the nature of empires in different points in their life cycle: one ascending and the other descending.

Tucker's interview with Rand Paul is a good clip illustrating how this issue is being politicized. The threat of China, like everything else, is being overblown. Who benefits from threat inflation? The government and the media. Without danger, we have a diminished need of each.

 

[OldPlayer]

You're proving my point. I literally said, "in name only."

Uh if you intend on calling a country communist, capitalist, socialist, etc., yes it does matter. Words matter because they have meaning. Private ownership and wealth creation has exploded in China over the last decade or two as the economy liberalized. Communist economies don't do this. Communist countries don't manufacture everything for the US, and they don't buy our debt accommodating our government's addiction to spending. Calling China communist 50 years after Mao is as ridiculous as calling the US capitalistic in 2024.

Never said it was. The CCP isn't a form of government either. Both are essentially the ruling parties or factions of their respective countries. Ours allows a bit more debate and diversity of opinion domestically but less in our satellites. Theirs allows less freedom domestically but more in their satellites. Such is the nature of empires in different points in their life cycle: one ascending and the other descending.

Tucker's interview with Rand Paul is a good clip illustrating how this issue is being politicized. The threat of China, like everything else, is being overblown. Who benefits from threat inflation? The government and the media. Without danger, we have a diminished need of each.

Ask any 100 people in the world (except you) what kind of government exists in China. It’s Communist.