What the hubbub about potential TikTok banning in the United States could mean

Kiweevil 2020-08-01 16:01:19 UTC #11

Anywho, I think there are other apps that they should actually be focusing on. There are apps on the play store right now that market themselves as AI's, ones mostly used to text when you're feeling depressed or alone. They are essentially market as a virtual friend who learns about you and gets smarter everytime you text it.

However, I've dug through the terms of agreement for these apps. Despite them blatantly insisting that the apps don't data mine or sell your data, the terms of agreement actually says that the data collected is sold to companies like Amazon.

aqua03 2020-08-01 16:02:21 UTC #12

Honestly, I mostly hate TikTok for just how little moderation there is on a site/app aimed mostly at kids and teenagers. Like, I've seen a bunch of crazy stuff on TikTok done by kids and teens that just gets a free pass. As long as you're not fat, ugly, disabled, or criticize China, then it seem you're A-OK to do nearly whatever your heart desires on there. (No, I'm not making that part up. TikTok themselves admitted to purposefully hiding disabled and conventionally unattractive people because reasons. Go look it up. TikTok's wild and I hate it.)

Kiweevil 2020-08-01 16:03:30 UTC #13

Yeah, insta is really bad about it. They are owned by Facebook afterall. In fact, if I wanted to promote my art, I could explicitly choose what types of userbase I want my ad to target. And it can get earily specific. Like, I could choose to target people who look at content from specific fandoms.

Kiweevil 2020-08-01 16:05:05 UTC #14

Tik Tok is practically a breeding ground for predators for that same reason, and it makes me physically sick. You've got a bunch of 14-year-old girls shaking their ass cheeks who aren't always mentally developed enough to recognize when they're being targeted by an older man.

skicoak 2020-08-01 16:06:17 UTC #15

Like it's being mentioned below, if it's about the amount of data being collected... Start there.

There's a correlation in how certain parties used scare tactics on immigration issues to remove civil liberties and freedoms from the broader citizenship. And then were shocked when it was used against the protesters.

This feels similar...use fear of "foreign threats" to weaponize an issue into a tool to obtain other sketchy goals.

Data collection. It's just as much an issue with U.S. based sources than external.

aqua03 2020-08-01 16:08:21 UTC #16

Yeah, that's also what disgusts me about it and it's predecessor Musical.ly as well. The fact that it seems no one brings up that honestly really big problem part of TikTok when talking about reasons to get it banned and go straight to the "Data collecting from China" (Which is also a big problem, don't get me wrong) always kinda frustrates me in that regard to no end regarding the the main discourse around TikTok.

skicoak 2020-08-01 16:24:22 UTC #17

Because that's not an issue that can be legislated or rule booked away.

There's frankly nothing an app can do to regulate against the spectrum of issues around age appropriate content and interaction.

We, as a group, are sitting on our own similar timebomb. A southern conservative jury is going to have no problem believing the cartoon drawings and bright colors of many of these titles on Tapas are a lure to underaged readers to be exposed to "things".

Freemints30 2020-08-01 16:55:01 UTC #19

that or an an elderly person.

I Don't use tiktok. I hate you can post some VERy shady shit. while they also hide away people for, just as said before, having a disablity. Like that makes total sense.

DiegoPalacios 2020-08-01 16:57:35 UTC #20

It can be Coppa all over again........The problem is that to filter content faster many sites seem to be relying on bots, but they havent developed enough to gather the data outside surface appearance. (that is why some adult cartoons end up appearing on the kids category on youtube by default.)

DiegoPalacios 2020-08-01 17:05:17 UTC #21

I would not just call it an american company thing, this is a world wide issue and is used in other countries too.

Advertisers love having the data to reach the right people after all......

rajillustration 2020-08-01 17:58:59 UTC #22

I think that Tapas and Webtoon doesn't collect nearly as much data as TicTok did, so we're better off as far as it being a fear of abusive data collection. There's actually places you can check to see how much data is being collected I've just never checked myself--but I assume it's less than TicTok. I think the reasoning is far more political, especially since we're right before an election. Tapas and Webtoon, however, while it does have political cartoons, isn't very political at all. I can't see anyone justifying that Tapas would try to sway the next election, youknow?

skicoak 2020-08-01 18:08:31 UTC #23

Taking away any media composed of independent voices is a form of political control.

rajillustration 2020-08-01 18:10:15 UTC #24

oh yeah, and I think he's still pissed about all the TicTok Kpop stans buying out his rally a month ago and then leaving a lot of the seats empty.

skicoak 2020-08-01 18:27:28 UTC #25

And by convincing enough people that it's just a site for KIDS to dance and do silly things...then season it with a little "Pedophiles prey on there"...cook it at 350 degrees of "data collection by foreign parties".

You got a censorship cake that you can sell to the short sited.

nathanKmcwilliams 2020-08-01 18:37:38 UTC #26

Hrm...I fall under both sides here.

On one hand I don't want the government telling me I can't download an app.

But on the other hand, I dislike apps like that, I feel they encourage stupidity. And of course the data mining\intrusion of privacy is terrifying.

So I'll use my own judgement and not mess with it because it just doesn't appeal to me. But...we do live in a time where our privacy doesn't exist, no matter what we do. Yay!

rajillustration 2020-08-01 18:39:33 UTC #27

That and they did offer the company to Microsoft investors for Microsoft to run from within the US and store the data here, on US soil, and it fell through because of the president's decision. There were other ways of dealing with TicTok's data collecting than an outright ban.

But youknow I don't see anything remotely like that ever happening with our Webcomic sites. We aren't assembling fandoms to influence elections and making grassroots campaigns on here. Not nearly enough Americans read comics haha.

skicoak 2020-08-01 19:00:08 UTC #28

The core problem is individuals may claim that it's an important issue to them... But then "sell" the same info to the McDonald's Rewards App for a free order of small fries.

That's inherently what history has taught us though, if you don't fight for your freedoms at every opportunity....then eventually there's nobody left to fight with you when they come specifically for you.

So I get vocal over TikTok so one day they don't come for Tapas.

nathanKmcwilliams 2020-08-01 19:15:08 UTC #29

Which I...don't do either xD those programs are a scam I tell ya.

skicoak 2020-08-01 19:29:04 UTC #30

For shame Nathan, for shame.

unicornfield 2020-08-01 19:47:13 UTC #31

All sites collect excessive data though, including google and facebook, and it has been a big topic for a long time. I don't use tik tok so I don't know what data they collect, How much do you think the US just want to ban tik tok because "China bad" rather than genuinely caring about data protection? If the US government is genuine about data protection then they would revise data protection laws that better protects the users... but that would apply to all companies...

As if they aren't already...