The House on Wednesday passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to either sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in the United States.

Republican leaders fast-tracked the bill through the House with limited debate, and it passed on a lopsided vote of 352-65, reflecting widespread backing for legislation that would take direct aim at China in an election year.

  • LucidNightmare@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    EDIT: Since it seems like some people lost the plot of my comment, somehow…

    TLDR: Government sector in USA has 81% of the people in charge agreeing to ban an app, while there are kids being told they are too poor to afford to eat at a building that is mandated by the government to be there.

    People dying from overpriced medicine and care? Nothing we can do!

    People starving from companies overpricing their shit quality food? Nothing we can do!

    People paying more taxes than companies, while those same companies pay little to NO taxes, while raking in “record breaking profits!!!” Nothing we can do!

    Some app that allows the people to talk to each other, and to band together, about how shitty our situation is? An app that allows people to voice their issues of our government, freely, while attaining thousands and millions of views with like-minded people who are also sick of their government fucking them every step they can? BAN IT! QUICKLY EVERYONE, BAN IT BEFORE THEY REALIZE WE’RE COMPLICIT WITH EACH OTHER IN CONSTANTLY FUCKING OVER THOSE STUPID PEASANTS!

    Seriously, guys. Can you think of the last time we had 81% of our house actively working together to help the people? I sure can’t.

    • laverabe@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      The ban is a good thing because China is an autocracy. Freedom of thought is not acceptable there, otherwise you wouldn’t know what I mean when I say the great firewall of China. Their influence is already vast.

      The US isn’t a beacon of democracy, but the distance between a flawed democracy and an authoritarian regime is massive. The US Congress is largely ineffective, but this is one thing they’ve gotten right.

      TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social network, instructs its moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong, according to leaked documents detailing the site’s moderation guidelines.

      https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/25/revealed-how-tiktok-censors-videos-that-do-not-please-beijing

      • LucidNightmare@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        8 months ago

        I completely disagree with your reasoning. As I have stated above, all that I’ve ever been shown is some funny videos sure, but MOSTLY average people like myself who are constantly fucked by those above us all and voice their opinions, freely, on the app. I finally have an app where people aren’t posting pictures of their selves trying to pretend they’re happy. I finally have an app where I can hear others who think about the systemic injustices constantly bombarding us in this digital era.

        It’s quite funny you say they got this one right, but they also allow censoring of our “news” stations here, and the content that is on american social medias. you do see that, right? So, it’s okay in your eyes, for a foreign app to be banned, but no restrictions for the apps that american companies deploy that also have a narrative to push? you don’t think this could’ve been a SWEEPING bill that includes ALL social medias? Why just this one? It has been proven that Russia and Chinese bot farms are swamping Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Why is this not something they care about? Truly, I want to hear this from you.

        Why do you think they want to ban this ONE app? To prevent data from leaking out? What data homie? Millions of people crying out to each other that their system is rigged against them?

        Are you insane?

      • LucidNightmare@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        8 months ago

        And to just further point out, because it seems like you ignored the first three sentences of my post, you’re fine with our government banding together for this singular app (lmfao) but NOT banding together to actually help the common people? What???

        You don’t think their priority should be the former, and THEN we can worry about this stupid fucking foreign app?

        You ARE insane!

  • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    8 months ago

    Free speech unless you criticize israel. That’s literally illegal.

    America is a dictatorship.

    • _number8_@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      and it’s not even a functional dictatorship; meaningful bills get held up in the wheels of power for ages and ages, but they have the will to pass this grossly authoritarian bullshit within a week. sick.

  • _number8_@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    can’t believe people’s insanely smug reaction to this. the government is banning an app that 100+ million americans use and presumably enjoy. that is insane, full stop.