[yyyfb]

TikTok's problem isn't with what they say openly, it's with the amount of invisible control exerted by a foreign government.

[jayd16]

Isn't this like saying a popular newspaper should be banned because of what they choose to put on the front page?

[yyyfb]

No. Unlike a newspaper, they host videos and photos of a third of (?) the US population, have detailed reader data on who reads what when, who is friends with whom, location history, etc.

This data treasure trove may be stored in US, but it isn't protected from Chinese govt access. It is the same for data by American companies, which US Patriot act lets the US govt access.

[unethical_ban]

No, it's like banning a newspaper because it is operated by Chinese intelligence agencies, regardless of what it publishes.

[aprilthird2021]

It is exactly that, but you'll see a lot of mental gymnastics to try to bend around it, or they'll just mask off say "Eh, gotta fight fire with fire"

[warble]

Which they exert through promotion or demotion of speech. In the end it's still a free speech issue in my mind.

[yyyfb]

Not necessarily. China pursues many objectives when it comes to its national security, such as intimidation and coercion of dissidents or opponents of its regime living abroad. Assuming China's equivalent of the Patriot act lets it treat TikTok user data as an open book, there is a lot for them to learn from it.

[ninkendo]

Foreign governments don't have a right to free speech in the US. They never have and the very idea is absurd. It's getting really tiresome to have to repeat this.