Lawmaker: TikTok must "sever relationship with the Chinese Communist Party."

  • radiofreeval [any]
    ·
    4 months ago

    This is in the process of trying to fire up another Yellow Peril. Access to data and profit might be the driving factors, but so is creating a new enemy class to scapegoat. Just look at how the media talks about China and how anti-Asian hate has been rising in recent years. Of course race is a factor because you need race to create a racial enemy.

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
      ·
      4 months ago

      It's about power, not about race. International politics is always about power. I don't get how some people don't understand that. You're right that many people are creating a scapegoat out of China, but (the intelligent and influential ones) aren't doing it out of racism. It might be racist, but they don't buy it, they're only selling it. It's about solidifying power and controlling means and methods. That's always the case for governments, no matter when or where.

      • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        Power and racism are inextricably bound together when it's the Americans doing things. This isn't even about maintaining hard power; this is just about keeping the inhabitants of the Western world from seeing how the elites make the sausage.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
          ·
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          This isn't even about maintaining hard power; this is just about keeping the inhabitants of the Western world from seeing how the elites make the sausage.

          It's about soft power. I don't think it has to do with people of the western world seeing what's being done either (they don't and won't if TikTok is the thing they're using). It's just about gathering data and also having control over a service that could be used to influence people. It wouldn't matter if it's China or Russia (mostly white) in control of it.

          Power and racism are inextricably bound together when it's the Americans doing things.

          Is it? Many people saw through the racism of slavery and yet still used it, because racism was an excuse, not a reason. Usually racism is an excuse. It's something that's easily sold to the masses, and for some reason people still buy it, and people like you buy that that's still the reason and not seeing what's really being played. Sure, there are a lot of racist people, but even that is only because some people use it to gain power. Racism has the same purpose as religion. It's a method of control, by defining "the enemy". Usually if anyone is defining an enemy it's a form of control for that matter. There are plenty of bad people, but it's hard to say any group is bad by default. There are bad systems though.

          • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            I don’t think it has to do with people of the western world seeing what’s being done either (they don’t and won’t if TikTok is the thing they’re using).

            Tiktok is literally how my nieces, nephews, and their peer groups have been learning about American malfeasance, but sure, they're TOTALLY not seeing anything.

            It’s just about gathering data and also having control over a service that could be used to influence people. It wouldn’t matter if it’s China or Russia (mostly white) in control of it.

            Bull, if it was 'just about gathering data' they'd go after Zuck and Musk too. (And no, the wrist-slappings they've 'endured' thus far don't count, Meta and Twitter bans have NEVER been floated, OR sailed through Congress as easily as this proposed Tiktok ban has.) Further, if Russia were considered 'mostly white', NATO wouldn't be trying to encircle and exterminate them. Try again.

            Is it? Many people saw through the racism of slavery and yet still used it, because racism was an excuse, not a reason.

            Further bull, America's done everything in its power to keep forms of slavery in play; specifically pipelining the minorities they used to keep as chattel into prison slavery instead. It's always maintenance of an Anglo status quo. Don't try again here; I know you're not going to go look up the Fourteenth Amendment to see how the Anglos have historically played with legalese to maintain unjust systems.

            There are plenty of bad people, but it’s hard to say any group is bad by default.

            Four hundred years of slavery, genocide, resource extraction, ignorance of sovereignty, rank and blatant funding of terrorism, and extrajudicial murder says what now? Tell your handler I said hi.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
              ·
              4 months ago

              Bull, if it was 'just about gathering data' they'd go after Zuck and Musk too.

              They're amaerican. They already have them.

              Further, if Russia were considered 'mostly white', NATO wouldn't be trying to encircle and exterminate them. Try again.

              Dude, if NATO wanted them destroyed they wouldn't be as passive as they have been. It has nothing to do with race. There are plenty of Russian/Caucasian people in the west.

              Further bull, America's done everything in its power to keep forms of slavery in play; specifically pipelining the minorities they used to keep as chattel into prison slavery instead.

              I agree this is happening, but is it because of race or because it's an easy excuse. You can't tell the difference.

              Four hundred years of slavery, genocide, resource extraction, ignorance of sovereignty, and extrajudicial murder says what now? Tell your handler I said hi.

              Show me a nation that doesn't have exploitation and/or genocide in their past. There isn't one. All nations exploit. Governments are corrupt. I'm not arguing the US is good, I'm arguing all nations are bad. You are just willfully ignorant. Whatever government you support (Russia presumably, by your instance?) it has exploited people at some point in time at least. It almost certainly is even now, or someone else would be in power.

              • sooper_dooper_roofer [none/use name]
                ·
                4 months ago

                There isn't one. All nations exploit. Governments are corrupt. I'm not arguing the US is good, I'm arguing all nations are bad.

                Cool, why haven't any Black people been shot in China?

                • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  i hate when liberals do this, the "i hate all countries" thing. America invades another country every 3 years on average and this is just as bad as China, a country that hasn't invaded anyone since 1979? What is this reasoning. This is like those Protestants who say lying about your homework is an equal sin as murdering someone

                  • SSJ2Marx
                    ·
                    4 months ago

                    It's because it's not reasoning, it's a thought-terminating cliche to help them advocate for maintaining the status quo while not feeling like they're in favor of the status quo.

                • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  I guess this was shared on hexbear or lemygrad. I'll see it soon enough from there I guess.

                  Why does China not allow all western companies into their ecosystem? Is it because of race? Obviously not. It's about power and control, and I'm not dense enough to think otherwise.

                  • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    4 months ago

                    Maybe, but they'd in 9 of 10 cases literally rather die than admit there IS a divergent diagnosis there; so as long as they labor under that delusion, I've got no reason to treat them like they are divergent. I am not some pacifistic abbot in some 12th century monastery; if I read you as an opp, I'm coming for your neck regardless of extenuating circumstances.

                • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  Alright. Explain how China having their own ecosystem is better. I know what they're all doing. You're the one saying any one is doing it because of a race thing.

                  • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    4 months ago

                    Show

                    Yup, I'm saying it; and I'm not humoring 'debate' on the topic from anglos. 'Debating' you and yours is kin to trying to debate a sinkhole. Empty air flung down an indifferent, almost-smug pit. Any way out from under the thumb of you and everyone like you is only a good thing achieved by anyone who manages it, and I pray I live to get to watch your system crumble under your impotent fingers.

                    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                      ·
                      4 months ago

                      You came here dude. I didn't go to you to "debate".

                      I pray I get to see it crumble too. However, I'm not dillusional enough to think it's just one thing that needs to crumble.

                      • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
                        ·
                        edit-2
                        4 months ago

                        You keep flooding my inbox with white bullshit like you know better than me; you're trying to debate. I don't debate the kinds of people John Brown would've shot. You already showed your hand when you tried to sidestep past America's historical, continued, and unbroken malfeasance over the past four hundred years.

                        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                          ·
                          4 months ago

                          Stop being a "debate bro" here and acting like you aren't. You came here. You are not the one being flooded. Look at how many people are replying to me with the same crap every time.

                          I didn't sidestep US history at all. The US has racism literally written into its constitution. It was useful to those in power, but many have writting saying they thought it was wrong and evil and black people were fully people. They still used it. That's worse than just racism. It's pure evil.

                          However, I'm not blinded by hatred over a certain group. China has an entire seperate internet ecosystem. Is it because of racism? China has a long history of racism too. Obviously it is not, and its about power and control. The same logic is true for the US. They'd do the same thing if it were Russian owned and Russia is primarily white like the US. Assuming it's racism makes you ignore the actual issues.

                          Now find a new thread to be a debate bro in. Leave me alone.

                  • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                    ·
                    4 months ago

                    Explain how China having their own ecosystem is better

                    This seems self-explanatory to me. The US will do whatever it can to instigate color revolution -- having a record of doing so in the past, see Facebook being used for revolts in the Middle East -- so having companies that ultimately need to answer to the Chinese government rather than the US one is better for national security. It's also better for China's own economic development to have domestic companies need to figure out how to make decent platforms.

                    China has no such record of instigating revolts and historically is much more opposed to infringing on the sovereignty of UN members (except Vietnam angery ).

                    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                      ·
                      4 months ago

                      This seems self-explanatory to me. The US will do whatever it can to instigate color revolution -- having a record of doing so in the past, see Facebook being used for revolts in the Middle East -- so having companies that ultimately need to answer to the Chinese government rather than the US one is better for national security. It's also better for China's own economic development to have domestic companies need to figure out how to make decent platforms.

                      Exactly. What they use it for doesn't really matter, though implying China doesn't use soft power to control nations is really dumb. They may not invade, but they constantly use and advance soft power to influence other nations. I'm not saying there's anything particularly wrong with that as that's what nations do. They do do it though.

                      • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                        ·
                        4 months ago

                        Your shrugging is incredibly annoying and disingenuous and "soft power" is being used to weasel completely illegitimate claims. Does China like doing soft power with its pop culture exports (such as they exist) and even the mere existence of platforms like AliExpress? Sure. Does a platform run more by western than China represent a threat by the latter to subvert the US? Not without actual substantiation.

                        China's interest in bilateralism is neither saintly nor even particularly based on being a Dictatorship of the Proletariat, but the fact that it knows that it wins by playing the long game and giving itself time to develop, while its main enemy is perhaps the most effectively pugnacious in world history (contrast with a state like the DPRK that talks a lot of shit but ultimately isn't getting into any new wars, just staying in the one it was founded under). China is averse to fomenting revolt in the US or elsewhere because it wants to undercut power politics and play to its strengths rather than those of its enemy. To do that, it has a reputation to uphold that it won't imperil with some hail mary tiktok brainwashing scheme that would certainly fail if it even had the power to pull it off (and, again, tiktok is already run by parties who don't take orders from China).

                        The US isn't doing this out of strategic interests against the platform inherently, it is doing it as some combination of a scapegoating kabuki theater and to pave the way for further protectionist policy by normalizing banning things just for being Chinese on a flimsy red scare pretext.

                        I think you've already had this quote paraphrased to you, but I didn't see it properly rendered, so here's the original:

                        Many westerners come to socialism not out of necessity, but out of disillusionment. We are raised with the idea that Liberal Democracy is the best system of political expression humanity has devised. When confronted with the reality of its shortcomings, rather than narrowly discard liberalism or electoralism, the western anti-capitalist tends to draw sweeping conclusions about the inadequacy of all existing systems. Curiously, though it would at first seem that such denunciations are more principled and severe, they are in fact more compatible with existing and widespread beliefs about the supremacy of the western system. That is to say, when a Marxist-Leninist asserts the superiority of existing socialist experiments, they are directly challenging the idea that westerners are at the forefront of political development. By contrast, the assertions from anarchists and social democrats that we need to build a more utopian future out of our current apex are compatible not only with each other, as discussed earlier, but also do not really offend bourgeois society at large. They in fact end up not sounding too different from the arch-imperialist Winston Churchill holding forth on how ours is the worst system, except for all the others which have been tried. Western chauvinists, consciously or unconsciously, struggle with the idea that they should study and humbly take lessons from the imperial periphery. It is much easier for the chauvinist, psychologically, to position oneself as at the very front of a new vanguard.

                        From the excellent essayist Roderic Day, "Why Marxism?"

              • sooper_dooper_roofer [none/use name]
                ·
                edit-2
                4 months ago

                I agree this is happening, but is it because of race or because it's an easy excuse. You can't tell the difference.

                things have multiple reasons.

                Like when a forest fire happens, it doesn't happen ONLY because the weather was dry and ONLY because the weather was hot. It was a combination of both of them.

                Likewise, when anglo-crackers pull this shit, it's not ONLY because they're racist, or ONLY because they want to personally control it. It's because they're racist AND want control, mostly so they can use it to propagandize people into being more racist.

                Generally, when a certain event happens, it has multiple causes! Single cause phenomena are very rare in organic systems!

                • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  Sure, it has multiple causes. Anyone intillegent is just using race as an excuse. China has an ecosystem almost exclusive to China. Is it because they're racist or because they want control, or both?

                  • spacecadet [he/him]
                    ·
                    4 months ago

                    You might be surprised how many "intelligent" people can also be sincerely racist.

                    Also, I believe at least one reason people are upset with you here in this thread is because of how hard you are trying to "prove" the innocence of someone being racist, or "prove" the unreality of a system or institution being "truly/authentically" racist, when ultimately the end result is the same: pure racist outcomes. Even if somehow you could prove with full receipts that racism, as you claim, is used as a inauthentic tool for oppression, the energy you are taking up to hound this point is painfully disproportionate and misplaced, if even technically correct at all.

                    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                      ·
                      4 months ago

                      I can't "prove" anything. However, a whole bunch of people coming into here to tell me how I'm wrong and it has to be racism from a certain two instances is a little hypocritical. They weren't in this thread much until this, and they all flood in to tell me that I'm wrong, without any reason except "it just is racist."

                      ...when ultimately the end result is the same: pure racist outcomes.

                      No, the end result is not the same. People recognizing that all of these institutions are doing the same thing allows us to solve issues. However, some of the people here think that the institutions they like, for whatever reason, aren't doing this. They come here to defend China or attack the US, but China has a firewall and generally has their own exclusive ecosystem. What's different with the US forcing one app to be western owned? Is China doing it because of racism? No. That's pretty naive. Thinking this can only lead to outrage at some people and can't solve the actual issues because the wrong issues are being addressed.

                      Even if somehow you could prove with full receipts that racism, as you claim, is used as a inauthentic tool for oppression, the energy you are taking up to hound this point is painfully disproportionate and misplaced, if even technically correct at all.

                      Dude, I was here on my home instance and dozens of people show up to tell me I'm wrong from two other instances. I'm putting in too much energy? Why is it never you guys putting in too much energy, or you guys being the "debate bros". You came at me.

              • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                ·
                4 months ago

                Dude, if NATO wanted them destroyed they wouldn't be as passive as they have been. It has nothing to do with race. There are plenty of Russian/Caucasian people in the west.

                This is a bit silly. With how NATO works, they'd be inviting WWIII and do serious damage to ties with China that they are critically dependent on, and there's a good chance the alliance would implode if they were that much more aggressive since many of the countries in it don't want war, they just want to cower behind whoever has the biggest gun, to say nothing of the fact that the US government is already unpopular and would probably be forced to start conscripting soldiers, which would produce massive backlash. There are a lot of reasons for the US to stick to proxy wars for as long as it can manage.

              • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
                ·
                edit-2
                4 months ago

                America already controls Tiktok's data via Oracle server farms in Virginia, so that automatically doesn't track; make it make sense. Why is there a need to ban them that DOESN'T boil down to the usual anglo pearlclutching trying to start new Yellow Perils and Red Scares? And why haven't Twitter, Meta, Instagram, or Trust Social been banned yet? Make. It. Make. Sense.

                • flying_sheep@lemmy.ml
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  I'm from the EU, where there's laws in place for some industries to put EU user data exclusively on servers that are in the EU. I'm assuming that the US doesn't have that kind of law applying to TikTok, and that the US servers are an infrastructure decision by Tiktok’s owner company. If I'm right, then that's your answer. If I'm wrong then they really don't need to ban them.

                  For the record, please keep in mind that I'm not defending any party here. I'm very aware of post cold war yellow/red scare stories, I just don't see how this inevitably has to be the consequence of one.

                  • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    4 months ago

                    I just don’t see how this inevitably has to be the consequence of one.

                    Then you're clearly not paying attention; but that's to be expected of a Five Eyes vassal ig. You can say you're 'not defending any party' all you like, the very geopolitical viewpoint you've been propagandized into does that for you.

                      • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                        ·
                        4 months ago

                        They're being a bit antisocial and I don't defend that, but they're referencing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes , an intelligence agreement among the anglosphere, and then saying you're from a vassal state of that alliance (really just a vassal of the US).

                          • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                            ·
                            edit-2
                            4 months ago

                            Socialists should seek to be pro-social in all contexts. Being bitter won't help you do anything but preach to the choir.

                              • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                                ·
                                4 months ago

                                As a member of a vassal state, it makes sense to thereby call the citizens vassals.

                                • flying_sheep@lemmy.ml
                                  ·
                                  4 months ago

                                  Ah yes, as we all know, family, friends, and poverty doesn't exist. So everyone is either complicit or will immediately move to whatever perfect country you think exists.

                                  • GarbageShoot [he/him]
                                    ·
                                    4 months ago

                                    Vassalage is a term describing social position, not a moralism. Your indignation at this has no bearing on the fact and you sound just like the morons who say white privilege doesn't exist because poor white people exist.

      • sooper_dooper_roofer [none/use name]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        non-hexbear/non-lemmygrad user handle
        ridiculous kindergarten-tier reasoning

        like pottery

        "waaahhh they're only DISPASSIONATELY SELLING the racism, they don't actually feel it in their hearts!"

        First of all that's irrelevant
        Second of all your work almost always becomes your personality to some extent so you're almost certainly wrong

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
          ·
          4 months ago

          And you're better, right? No. You aren't. I'm on hexbear fairly frequently. I don't have any issue with hexbear or lemmygrad. I'm just not ignoring the fact all these nations do this. China has an almost exclusive ecosystem, yet somehow when the US does it it's racism? No. It isn't about race. It's about control. This apiea to China, Russia, and the US, and any other power in the future or past. Anyone who has the capability to gain control also has disposition to exploit their control. You don't gain control without that.

          • RuthlessCriticism [comrade/them]
            ·
            4 months ago

            Except it isn't actually the same. Bytedance can give the US government all the control literally everything they asked for and it hasn't been enough, because ultimately that is not what it's about.

          • sooper_dooper_roofer [none/use name]
            ·
            4 months ago

            literally half your political establishment (meaning 70% of the whites) like Russia for no other reason other than them being white

            LOTTA WHITE NOISE IN HERE

      • SSJ2Marx
        ·
        4 months ago

        If TikTok was owned by a German or English corporation, would it be facing this kind of scrutiny? Of fucking course not, don't be dense.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
          ·
          4 months ago

          No, because they'd share the information with the US. Just like China doesn't allow US corporations into China. Don't be dense.

          • SSJ2Marx
            ·
            4 months ago

            And I suppose the reason all of the euro countries share information with each other and don't let China into their special club is just a natural phenomenon? Completely arbitrary and random?

            • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
              ·
              4 months ago

              Definitely can't be because they're the original settlers with historical prejudices against ANYONE they perceive as Asian; that totally doesn't exist according to that utter sinkhole

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
              ·
              4 months ago

              Not random for sure. They are a seperate power structure. The US does share some data with China, and also western countries don't share a lot of data with each other as well. All nations are constantly spying on each other. It isn't infrequent you hear about some NATO country spy being caught spying on some NATO nation. Governments are about control, and they'll try to increase that control with any method possible.

          • radiofreeval [any]
            ·
            4 months ago

            TikTok stores American data via Oracle. They also have servers in Virginia and Singapore.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
              ·
              4 months ago

              Sure, you have to store data with some locality so round trip times aren't horrible. It doesn't mean anyone has access to it or control over it.

              • radiofreeval [any]
                ·
                4 months ago

                Oracle is an American company so they can get searched by the government at will. The government has access to TikTok data around as easily as the PRC does, it's just a matter of corporations being able to grab a profitable asset & create Anti-China sentiment.

                • Cethin@lemmy.zip
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  There's no way in hell that data isn't encrypted. That'd be very poor handling of data, and probably illegal in most places, at least the EU. Just because data is on a server doesn't mean you access it with access to the server. Sure, the videos and stuff are probably raw, but any PII is almost certainly encrypted, or it should be if it isn't.

      • Adlach@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        Racism is an action word. Not "believing" in it is (quite literally) immaterial. If you do a racist action, you're a racist.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
          ·
          4 months ago

          Sure, but they'd do it with Russia too, and they're "the same race". It has nothing to do with race. Race is just a convenient way to criticize the US here without examining the actual issue. China has their own ecosystem for fucks sake. If any nation is being racist it's them, but it's not because of race that they have that.

          • SUPAVILLAIN@lemmygrad.ml
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            China has their own ecosystem for fucks sake. If any nation is being racist it’s them

            "WAH THEY WON'T LET US PILLAGE THEIR ECONOMY THE WAY WE PILLAGED AFRICA" do you fucking hear yourself lmfao. You fixate on this "they're not in our ecosystem" horseshit and it's really just starting to sound like you're mad you don't get to consoom their produce too, mad that your straw just can't reach far enough into their milkshake for you to Daniel Day-Lewis it.

            And before you try to get cute about me "debating", nope, now I'm just dragging you for filth due to your absolute blatancy. Your words are hot air and confident ignorance; there's nothing worth debating in you.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
              ·
              4 months ago

              I'm not complaining about them having their ecosystem. I'm pointing out that they do, and they enforce it. Any complaint about the US doing the same should be met with equal criticism of China doing the same thing except even harsher. I don't really care that they have that, but I also don't care that the US is forcing this. You people who came here are the ones saying it's wrong, but it's wrong because it's the US and China is fine.