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by llamaimperative 562 days ago
I'm no fan of TikTok but this is a really shitty argument.

China can do it because China doesn't have the First Amendment, which is, you know, sort of the whole point...

3 comments

But in practice, that means the only global social network—one that is accessible in both the US and in China—is one that agrees to Chinese censorship laws. IMO, this is a massive backfire to the purpose of freedom of speech.
Isn't there a totally separate TikTok for China?

>TikTok, whose mainland Chinese and Hong Kong[3] counterpart is Douyin,[a][4] is a short-form video hosting service (...)

>While TikTok and Douyin share a similar user interface, the platforms operate separately.[28][4][29] Douyin includes an in-video search feature that can search by people's faces for more videos of them, along with other features such as buying, booking hotels, and making geo-tagged reviews.[30]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TikTok

So I think even TikTok (app for non-China markets) isn't available in China.

paradox of intolerance rears it's head up again.
Yes? That’s how it works. Because as soon as you act like the enemy, you’re no different from them.
An America without TikTok is still vastly more free than China. Our constitution is not a suicide pact.
Yep, liberalism is hard. More breaking news at 10.
Do Americans really have a 1st amendment anymore?
If social media sites had identity proofing (e.g. IAL2) and you can definitely say who is saying what - then you can talk

A) About “Americans”

B) Freedom of Speech

If TikTok bans a post from user846859347 which American’s freedom of speech are we talking about. 98.65% of shit on TT is bot-generated propaganda and removing it isn’t violating anyone’s freedom of speech

Yes, which is why you hear them unabashedly complaining about their government nonstop.
Compared to China? Absolutely. Ask Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
Plenty of countries don't have the First Amendment that are still liberal democracies that adhere to more or less free trade principles. The PRC does it because they are totalitarian State subject to the control of the Communist Party of China and their censorship regime does not stop at the border:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_censorship_abroad