- cross-posted to:
- politics@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- politics@lemmy.world
Summary
Donald Trump submitted a Supreme Court filing opposing a TikTok ban, citing his “dealmaking expertise” and promising to resolve national security concerns.
The brief advocates delaying the case to allow Trump to address it politically.
Legal experts criticized the filing for being overly self-promotional and unprecedented, with some mistaking it for satire.
Critics noted its unusual tone and highlighted the involvement of Trump’s potential solicitor general pick, D. John Sauer, in drafting the document.
The case concerns TikTok’s alleged violations of privacy laws and ties to China.
Douyin content is very similar to TikTok content. There are many popular douyin creators whose content gets copied to TikTok. There’s loads of makeup, cosplay, cooking, skit, DIY, etc. Mukbang style content is very popular there as well. Their makeup and fashion content, like on TikTok, is sponsored by huge international brands like Mac and Gucci and others along those lines. Also super popular is pet content, like people who run cat shelters and dog walkers and stuff. There is also no age verification to use the app unless you want to post or comment yourself, and there is no time limit to use it. Some TikTok creators get reposted to douyin as well, but the overwhelming majority of people in china do not speak English, and to post on it, you need to be a citizen of China. Not that there aren’t ways around it, but it’s harder than it’s worth.
I get that you’re paranoid about Chinese international political interference, rightfully so in some ways. But this is just blatant lies and fear mongering. I’ve used the app extensively myself to follow some makeup content creators from China. It’s functionally identical to TikTok. Censorship does exist, but it’s based around specific events, mostly from what i can tell. I don’t use to find political content, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they censored content based on stuff like the Honk Kong protests. Propaganda is also on there, most likely, but I never encounter it in my feed.
How often is that true the other way around?
Pretty uncommonly, since you need a valid Chinese phone number to make a douyin account. A few english speakers living outside china get posted there, but English isn’t a super common language in mainland China. It’s there of course but not widespread enough for it to be much of a market for it. Not to mention America and China are culturally quite a ways apart and I’d imagine western content wouldn’t see widespread popularity there.
I’m amazed you do not see the issue with this not being a reciprocal situation. What you’re doing is making poor excuses for what is very clearly a two-tiered system, one for people in China where the content can be easily controlled, and one for people outside of China where it can’t… but where it can absolutely still be used for propaganda. By, for example, letting “many popular Douyin creators” have their content reposted on TikTok.
And before you start in with me about it, I could not give less of a shit whether or not it’s banned. I’m just under no illusions about what the situation is here.
I just don’t see this in particular as a two tiered system. Chinese citizens don’t use TikTok content is copied over from that platform by other people. Douyin connects with a bunch of the other social media systems created in China, it’s exclusively in Chinese and is made for Chinese citizens. TikTok is usable, essentially anywhere else in the world. Douyin is usable in China specifically. You can use it outside of China you just cannot comment or post.
I don’t know I’m just under no particularly obsessive illusions about China. Yeah they definitely censor their citizens in intrusive and oppressive ways and that’s wrong and bad. So does nearly every single nation on earth. Why would my beef with China specifically, as opposed to American social media which spans the globe and is constantly flooded with western neoliberal propaganda?
Like it’s just silly and frustrating the way so much fear and discussions is directed towards China specifically. Like to a wild extent like anything done by China anything Chinese must be nefarious in some way. Fear mongering around TikTok is just. Weird. The same reaction doesn’t exist towards reels even though reels censors even more subjects than TikTok does.
And like that’s what my initial comment was about right I saw someone say something I know wasn’t true because I’ve used the app myself.
And you know me too, we’ve talked many times we’re definitely not strangers haha. We’ve been on the same and on opposite sides of at least a dozen discussions on Lemmy before. You can have some small measure of faith that I’m not a tankie here to act like authoritarian oppression is good actually.
It’s a two-tiered system because there are literally two tiers. There’s one where people can use TikTok outside China and one where people can use Douyin inside China. And content only goes one way. I’m not sure how more clear this can be made to you.
Also, stop making this about you. It isn’t about you. I never made any claims about you apart from you making poor excuses for a two-tiered system. And I stand by that claim.
I’m not making anything about me I’m just responding to this general skepticism about the intention of my statements. If I read your comment incorrectly then I’m sorry. I’m also not in the business of acting like this is a discussion that matters to anyone beyond you and me, this isn’t groundbreaking political commentary that people are anxiously watching play out. Acknowledging the fact that we’ve spoken many times before is I think worthwhile within that context.
Tiers implies one is above the other somehow. But they aren’t they’re two distinct systems. I’m going to loop back to what I initially commented about which was the app itself and how it doesn’t function the way the commenter I responded to described it. Why would someone lie about how an app functions? Why specifically douyin, why specifically a Chinese social media app? It’s worth examining that decision and the ideas that it fosters about China.
I have said nothing about your intentions. I have no idea why you are suggesting I am. I told you what I said about you and I still stand by it. You are poorly defending a two-tiered system.
Why you are defending it is not something I care to speculate on.
And one is above the other if content only goes one way. Because only one group can see content from both platforms. The other can’t. This is some basic logic…
Nazi loving shit
Okay, yeah, your framing at the end there makes sense. I’m not sure how or why our conversation came about that specifically, but yes Chinese citizens are essentially sequestered on Douyin. I don’t know that they are unable to install TikTok, but I kind of assume so.
I still think the framing of two tiered is an odd way to put it but I at least understand what it is you’re trying to say.
You can imagine my confusion on what I thought was a pretty innocuous comment touching on something most people don’t know much about that I actually do and was met with some pretty intense responses from you lol.