[daemoens]

The app was shutdown a couple of hours ago in the US and this was the message all TikTok users saw when they opened the app.[1]

The same guy who pushed for a ban massively last year, is going to save the app despite the security concerns he and most of our government said they had. If only we knew what happened in that classified briefing that made them vote together across party lines.

[1] https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.c...

[tivert]

> If only we knew what happened in that classified briefing that made them vote together across party lines.

I don't know about any classified briefing, but TikTok publicly shot itself in the foot badly during the vote, though a hamfisted attempt to influence it. I think that was enough in itself to bring about bipartisan unity.

[csomar]

This is what happens when the process of law gets thrown out of the window and instead power is negotiated by people at the top. As someone who lived in a dictatorship -> democracy -> dictatorship, seeing tech CEOs pilgrimage to the Trump house, the US is critically close to turning into a dictatorship.

[Andys]

This is exactly what we saw when Sept 11 happened (over 20 years ago) and the Republicans decided to invade Iraq and carry out all sorts of extra-judicial mischief.

I started to think the world was going to end but its ticking along in the same manner which has now coloured my views.

[csomar]

States have a different (and significantly longer) timelines that humans. Even the Soviet Union "instant" collapse took years.

[stogot]

The 2008 administration under Obama carried out far more drone strikes & extra judicial efforts. Not justifying it but let’s not forget either

[afavour]

They’re massaging his ego and quite honestly it might be their best strategy. A whole lot of people out there want their TikTok back and you can bet Trump would love to call the press conference announcing that he, and only he, did the greatest deal and got the app back. Classified briefing be damned.

[_2d30]

If you want another angle beyond "massaging egos", look into the Trump <> Jeff Yass connection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Yass

[mrtksn]

“Freedom loving Trump saving freedom of speech from the dictators that ban apps” would be such a boon for Trump. It’s amazing that the current administration set up such a scene.

[mr_00ff00]

Will admit, this is a big PR win for him if it works.

Especially since a lot of young voters / voters in general don’t see much of the impact of the president.

Him doing something popular that the average person can see seems like a huge win.

[apsec112]

More people support the TikTok ban than oppose it:

https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/01/17/americans-banning-tik...

[LordDragonfang]

> According to Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Service survey released Friday

Rasmussen consistently gets ranked as one of the least reliable major pollsters, and has a heavy conservative bias. I would take that with a whole salt crystal.

[mrtksn]

People who want something they don't use or directly effected from be banned are not the same as the people who use the thing and getting directly affected.

People who loose stuff will feel much much strongly that those who on political or intellectual level support the ban. The later will move on, the former will remember.

[datavirtue]

They will forget about the ban in a week...tops.

[mr_00ff00]

Wow that actually surprises me. Social media had me thinking it was very one sided.

[mrtksn]

He can even appear like fighting the anti-freedom establishment that tries to take away something they like and make people believe that any other legal troubles he might have later be of political nature.

[DrBenCarson]

This law was passed by Congress and upheld 9-0 by the Supreme Court

[themgt]

The TikTok legislation was included as part of a larger $95 billion package that provides foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel and was passed 79-18.

iykyk. Also this article from two days ago is hilarious, "congressional leaders who championed the law are now shying away from calling for the ban to begin Sunday" with Schumer, Jeffries and the White House all trying to pass the buck to someone else and try to avoid a ban:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/us-leaders-lawmake...

Reality is this was a game of chicken. American leaders wanted to force a sale not be left standing like a trophy hunter next to the corpse of one of the most beloved apps. Now the elephant is dead and there's no hunters to be found! We'll see what happens.

[h0l0cube]

And Trump so far is only offering a 90 day extension to find a new US buyer. The ban was signed into law late April last year, but they've spent much of that time trying to fight it legally than actually find a buyer.

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

[mrtksn]

And?

[matttproud]

The American people by and large do not know how government operates, who has power and authority over what, etc. Blame and reward usually is attributed to the President who has high visibility.

[suraci]

Is this the 'deep state' Trump accused of?

could you explain this in more detail? really curious about it.

[DrBenCarson]

The current administration has very little to do with this

[mrtksn]

I'm sure those who have firm understanding on how things work will relentlessly correct those who want to score political points.

[_2d30]

And the job of the executive branch is to enforce the laws passed by the legislative.

[freddie_mercury]

Meaning the current administration had literally zero to do with it.

Do you understand that the President doesn't pass laws, Congress does?

[FranzFerdiNaN]

It’s amazing how you fully buy into Trump propaganda.

[hn_throwaway_99]

It's pretty clear the comment you are responding to was being sarcastic.

[jakelazaroff]

That last sentence is sarcastic, right? They didn’t like that TikTok was showing pro-Palestinian content.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/lawmaker...

[silisili]

I'm not going to pick a side, as I'm not versed enough in the history and nuances.

But I will say, partly emboldened by Massie's admissions, the absolute control Israel has over the US government is concerning.

[whattheheckheck]

You chose a side by submitting that comment due to the implication and probability distribution of the next thoughts that will occur in someone's head upon someone reading it.

[silisili]

Not at all. My first sentence was in reference to the Israel/Palestine conflict.

It's completely possible, perhaps even likely, that Israel is justified in the conflict, but doesn't change my feelings that they have too much control of our own government, mostly via AIPAC.

[guelo]

There was nothing in the classified briefing. The ban was enacted because their zionist donors told them to. Our government is corrupted past the point of recovery.