Puppycow
Penultimate Amazing
Trump's TikTok ban reversal comes after meeting megadonor who has stake in TikTok (ABC News)
Meanwhile, on the other side:
Democrat Sen Warner cedes 'Trump was right' on TikTok being 'enormous' national security issue (Fox News)
So lots of young kids being addicted to it is now a good thing?
Just interesting to me how the politics on this have apparently reversed.
It seems like there's plenty of flip-flopping going on here on both sides, but what should I think about the underlying issue?
Although I don't use it myself, I have seen people on the train using it. You swipe from one video to the next. Usually watching only a fraction of a second to a couple of seconds of each video until swiping again. Apparently it's kinda addictive, and designed to be used on a smartphone primarily. You can use it with just one hand, for example, on a train. Low-effort, instant gratification and short attention span.
If indeed 170 million Americans use TikTok (really??) that would be more than half the country. I'm a little skeptical of that figure. Would TikTok users who vote punish the party that took away their toy? Or is it mostly used by non-voters or people who don't care enough to vote on the issue? If Trump reversed his stance on this, maybe he was influenced by a megadonor like Yass, and/or maybe he senses that the politics no longer favor banning it (whatever you think about it in principle, it's a vote-loser; simple arithmetic).
I imagine that TikTok users would tend to care more about the issue than non-TikTok users, and therefore, I don't see how being for banning it would be a net positive if indeed anyone would actually change their vote based on this particular issue.
Facebook is still an American company though. TikTok is Chinese. So what about this "megadonor"?As Donald Trump reverses his position on potentially banning TikTok ahead of an expected House vote this week on legislation that could lead to it being blocked in the U.S., the former president has been rebuilding his relationship with a GOP megadonor who reportedly has a major financial stake in the popular social media platform.
Trump met with the donor, hedge fund manager Jeff Yass, earlier this month at a Club for Growth donor retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1.
. . .
The former president, who had originally spearheaded efforts to ban TikTok during his time in the White House, reversed his stance last week, posting on his own social media platform that getting rid of TikTok would benefit Facebook and that he doesn't want that to happen, suggesting Facebook is a bigger problem for the country.
"I don't want Facebook ... doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!" he wrote.
Really? So can you criticize the Chinese government on TikTok? I've never used it myself. No interest in trying yet another new social media app. I'm skeptical of this idea that free speech is entirely unfettered on TikTok, particularly coming from a man with a big financial stake in the company.Yass, who did not respond to a request for comment on Monday, owns a significant stake in in TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance, The Wall Street Journal reported last year.
"I've supported libertarian and free market principles my entire adult life," Yass told the Journal then. "TikTok is about free speech and innovation, the epitome of libertarian and free market ideals. The idea of banning TikTok is an anathema to everything I believe."
Meanwhile, on the other side:
Democrat Sen Warner cedes 'Trump was right' on TikTok being 'enormous' national security issue (Fox News)
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., revealed on Monday that he believes former President Donald Trump was right when he sounded the alarm on TikTok and its national security implications.
"It was rare for me to say that Donald Trump was right," Warner said during a committee hearing on worldwide threats. "But Donald Trump was right years ago when he pointed out the enormous national security concerns around TikTok, both in terms of obtaining data, but also think about the percentage – I think there are about 170 million Americans who use TikTok."
. . .
During his presidency in 2020, Trump signed an executive order to effectively ban the app in the U.S. But the action was blocked by the courts.
However, the current presidential candidate has appeared to change his tune in 2024. "Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it," Trump said in a Monday interview. "There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it."
So lots of young kids being addicted to it is now a good thing?

Just interesting to me how the politics on this have apparently reversed.
It seems like there's plenty of flip-flopping going on here on both sides, but what should I think about the underlying issue?
Although I don't use it myself, I have seen people on the train using it. You swipe from one video to the next. Usually watching only a fraction of a second to a couple of seconds of each video until swiping again. Apparently it's kinda addictive, and designed to be used on a smartphone primarily. You can use it with just one hand, for example, on a train. Low-effort, instant gratification and short attention span.
If indeed 170 million Americans use TikTok (really??) that would be more than half the country. I'm a little skeptical of that figure. Would TikTok users who vote punish the party that took away their toy? Or is it mostly used by non-voters or people who don't care enough to vote on the issue? If Trump reversed his stance on this, maybe he was influenced by a megadonor like Yass, and/or maybe he senses that the politics no longer favor banning it (whatever you think about it in principle, it's a vote-loser; simple arithmetic).
I imagine that TikTok users would tend to care more about the issue than non-TikTok users, and therefore, I don't see how being for banning it would be a net positive if indeed anyone would actually change their vote based on this particular issue.
