Post ATNsOGBlN1684SFFjM by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
(DIR) More posts by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
(DIR) Post #ATNsOGBlN1684SFFjM by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T21:01:07Z
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I'm not a fan of TikTok. But as far as I'm concerned, these bipartisan efforts to "ban TikTok" (and some other widely used Chinese services/products) based on "spying" concerns are essentially based on political bull. That's not to say that China doesn't spy (as does the U.S.) -- but going after these widely examined products and services is -- as far as I'm concerned -- nonsense. They're almost certainly not how China does their spying!
(DIR) Post #ATNscNqngEpjt7Asfw by joelpomales@mastodon.social
2023-03-07T21:03:42Z
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@lauren my family keeps sending me links to videos. I find them so meh. I've better ways to divest my attention.
(DIR) Post #ATNu39IjyxyAXLZOjY by disappearinjon@wandering.shop
2023-03-07T21:19:41Z
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@lauren I’m less concerned about spying per se than shaping public conversation through, e.g., suppressing discussion of the Uighurs or promoting extreme viewpoints with their opaque algorithm.
(DIR) Post #ATNuD1jUyb0rxYnPPM by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T21:21:32Z
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@disappearinjon Such issues are not in focus for the legislative efforts I know of. That said, do you know of specific ongoing instances of such directed viewpoint suppression?
(DIR) Post #ATNuUcG8QQmIAQRrbk by timswan@mastodon.social
2023-03-07T21:24:41Z
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@lauren I may be wrong, but spying isn’t the top concern. Manipulating the American electorate using their extensive understanding of users behavior and their (by all accounts excellent) algorithm is more likely what politicians fear.
(DIR) Post #ATNub0qJw91G9KQLzM by disappearinjon@wandering.shop
2023-03-07T21:25:48Z
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@lauren to pick just a few: https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-censor-china-critical-content-uighur-uighurs-2020-11?op=1 https://news.yahoo.com/researchers-claim-tiktoks-suppressing-vote-143000405.html https://slate.com/technology/2019/12/tiktok-disabled-users-videos-suppressed.html)Agreed it’s not the current focus of legislative efforts…
(DIR) Post #ATNucfPyZ69AHRtGj2 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T21:26:05Z
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@timswan I haven't seen them say that. And it would be hypocritical for them to say so, given both the Left and the Right in the U.S. want to micromanage social media content to their own advantage.
(DIR) Post #ATNukDOOeAxdg4kcEq by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T21:27:32Z
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@disappearinjon Four years ago is not of interest now.
(DIR) Post #ATNurKENcVz0uiSLLs by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T21:28:50Z
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@disappearinjon And frankly, I view those claims noted in those articles to be largely speculative. It's all about U.S. politics. Don't be fooled.
(DIR) Post #ATNv27ny9yxXYpFiCm by disappearinjon@wandering.shop
2023-03-07T21:30:44Z
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@lauren it confirms that the platform has the capacity, that intended suppression is in general indistinguishable from the algorithm, and that it’s been used to suppress content at the request of the Chinese government.Given that none of these capabilities have been eliminated from the system, I fail to see how a few years is irrelevant.What should we do, wait until we confirm that TikTok flips a US election before we worry?
(DIR) Post #ATNv8SysLECGySNTGa by disappearinjon@wandering.shop
2023-03-07T21:31:22Z
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@lauren some of it is definitely speculative! The challenge is we can’t know in the general case!
(DIR) Post #ATNwRoDnh1b8J796Aq by ampersine@mastodon.online
2023-03-07T21:46:34Z
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@lauren Yup. If China wants a massive collection of Americans' telemetry, PII, location data, etc. they're not gonna risk exfiltrating it from our phones. They're just gonna buy it from *American* companies who collect it all and would be thrilled to sell it to them. And very few in the government seem to care about that part.
(DIR) Post #ATNxCEGTCJn4OoWrtw by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T21:54:58Z
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@disappearinjon Given the demographics, most TikTok users probably don't even vote.
(DIR) Post #ATNy3GmOZt03Xykn9U by Gregnee@sfba.social
2023-03-07T22:04:32Z
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@lauren @disappearinjon youth vote increased at its highest rate in recent history for the 2022 midterm elections.
(DIR) Post #ATNyx2CpwtEuZ4iDom by Gregnee@sfba.social
2023-03-07T22:14:40Z
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@lauren @timswan surely you can see the difference between American political parties utilizing media to persuade voters and foreign adversaries doing so? Or were you okay with Russia’s election interference?I don’t mind if they ban Tiktok for the wrong reason, just so long as they do it. Or at least require them to relinquish Chinese ownership/CCP control.
(DIR) Post #ATNzEpoujo55Ma0hns by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T22:17:52Z
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@Gregnee @timswan Russia attempted to influence by proxies in the U.S., trying to hide their involvement. Anything China does with TikTok -- which I view as ineffective as an election interference tool, would be obvious and so far less effective. No, this is about U.S. politicians, not China.
(DIR) Post #ATO077lmDbacfaQjEO by chadgeidel@mastodon.cloud
2023-03-07T22:27:41Z
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@lauren It's almost like the people we elect are mostly ignorant of how modern technology-based spying works. Or how spying works. Or how technology works.Or, how most things built after, say 1950, work.What was that about the average age of a US senator or representative again?
(DIR) Post #ATO0Drsdh1RnPur6xc by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T22:28:55Z
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@chadgeidel It has nothing to do with age per se. The problems are just as bad among young Left-leaning politicians, who are equally trying to control the tech for their own political benefits.
(DIR) Post #ATO0JdBnE7tLahYwsa by chadgeidel@mastodon.cloud
2023-03-07T22:29:54Z
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@lauren I agree that younger folks have challenges too - but I'd argue that anyone who has attended school in the US system in the past 20-30 years are also suffering from a lack of education. Because we keep defunding it.
(DIR) Post #ATO0VG8WlIgXZMa1OC by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T22:31:43Z
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@chadgeidel Funding is not the foundation issue. Political interference is.
(DIR) Post #ATO12iLKuZGWbgWXIW by chadgeidel@mastodon.cloud
2023-03-07T22:38:03Z
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@lauren I can't say that I disagree, and I don't mean to suggest "more education would fix this mess" - but in terms of TikTok specifcally and China spying in general, it would be nice if US citizens had a common basic understanding of technological and geopolitical concerns - along with a healthy dose of understanding how media (not Capital T "The Media", just media in general) works.
(DIR) Post #ATO168pStTKfcWFagy by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-03-07T22:38:45Z
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@chadgeidel Free ponies would be nice too. Not gonna happen. It will only get worse.
(DIR) Post #ATO1IDcEvGnPwOp6Z6 by chadgeidel@mastodon.cloud
2023-03-07T22:40:52Z
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@lauren I'm hoping it will get slightly worse and then much better.Yes, I'm slightly insane. One has to be in this world.
(DIR) Post #ATO4UXNVZX52ZQUxiS by Gregnee@sfba.social
2023-03-07T23:16:40Z
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@lauren @timswan obvious? Not necessarily. They don’t have to produce divisive content themselves, which I agree would be obvious. But there are plenty of idiots in US who do that already. All they have to do is massively boost the crazy voices to the youth demographic and suppress sane voices, something they’ve already shown themselves willing to put their finger on the scale for
(DIR) Post #ATO4sM7z3JGmczav4q by cohomologyisFUN@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-03-07T23:20:59Z
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@lauren I agree. Frankly, for some gov’t employees, it probably makes sense to have strict rules about ANY location-tracking app on their phone. Singling out TikTok as a security risk is more about saber-rattling than anything.
(DIR) Post #ATOBAeSuDE28RDUJDE by joeo10@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-03-08T00:31:31Z
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@lauren Yep. This piece shows that any potenital ban won't help due to the fact that over 28,000 apps use TikTok's SDK. https://gizmodo.com/tiktok-ban-joe-biden-28000-apps-sdk-data-china-1850174019
(DIR) Post #ATOJje9k9WNjFRis40 by melissadancey@mastodon.au
2023-03-08T02:07:31Z
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@lauren Apparently, the Australian government is following the US banning this app on all federal public servants and pollies' work phones due to ongoing national security risks. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/07/tiktok-bans-on-australian-government-issued-phones-should-be-extended-to-other-apps-experts-say Note: pollies is Aus slang for politicians.
(DIR) Post #ATORotsbv2gH5yj14C by qualityhammer@techhub.social
2023-03-08T03:38:06Z
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@lauren i think they are after it because it's a primary tool for the younger generation, can't have that.