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ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say (www.reuters.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 33 points 2 years ago (3 children)

So everyone here is probably like "please do it" but I do wonder how the general populace would react. Would people actually miss TikTok if it just disappeared?

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  • [–] 41 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Nope. They'd probably move to YouTube shorts or some other lower quality copy of Vine.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    They’d reluctantly use Shorts or Slides if there’s no alternative, but realistically it’ll be something new. TikTok’s absence creates a vacuum that could be a huge opportunity for a new platform.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Doesn't pixelfed support shirt videos now?

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  • [–] [S] 8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    TikTok creators I follow get miserable amounts of views on YouTube. Shorts algorithm is nowhere near as good as TT and it's missing loads of features that make TT unique. If those creators were forced to move they'd probably go with Instagram but that's a poor replacement too.

    As a European I'm curious how TT will look like without Yanks. It's already much more usable after it was banned in India so there's that.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Because people who want tiktok content watch it in tiktok, and those who don't don't like the format in general.

    If tiktok started hosting half an hour long documentaries it wouldn't be any wonder that nobody would watch them, as the userbase doesn't have the attention span for that and they aren't scrolling tiktok for that type of content.

    I personally have only one user whose shorts I watch, B. Dylan Hollis. And even there I would much rather prefer longer videos, but I'll take what I can get.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 2 years ago

    I'm fairly sure that long term TikTok plans to do long form videos too and their current approach has a benefit of getting their foot in the door. No other competitor of YouTube managed to do that before.

    The neat thing about TikTok algo is that that they introduce different things and fine tune it to your liking without making things stale. This means those that are there for short form videos will keep on seeing them and their flow won't be interrupted. Those that are interested in longer ones will be presented with them. It's already happening but UI really needs refinement as it's kinda jarring now. It's still much better than how YouTube is trying to force shorts on their current users though.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Which is in my opinion the actual goal here... The USA talks about free market and crap but usually cannot compete unless they make the rules, set the referees, start with double the money, can't go to jail and charge triple passing go

    Either tiktok becomes an American company or leaves... Ah, the free market has spoken

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Either tiktok becomes an American company or leaves… Ah, the free market has spoken

    People keep saying this and I'm struggling to understand where this idea is coming from. The bill isn't saying that they have to sell TikTok to a US company. They don't have to sell it to the US government, or an owner in the US. Just divorce the company from explicit control by the Chinese government. Currently, the government can request any data they want from TikTok and they are obligated to provided it. Similarly, business laws in China mean that the government can also push changes down into the company, like a tweak to the algorithm to influence foreign perceptions of a topic for example.

    The requirements laid out in this bill are meant to break that obligation and influence. It doesn't say who should own the company - only who shouldn't.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Currently, the government can request any data they want from TikTok and they are obligated to provided it.

    You mean exactly like all big tech in the USA?

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  • [–] -2 points 2 years ago

    They have get a warrent to force getting data and I know of no legal obligation for platforms to change algorithms to promote or demote content. Even the twitter files showed that twitter employees voluntarily agreed to work with federal departments, but had no obligations to

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    This is important for people to understand.

    I’m definitely of the opinion that this sort of treatment should be applied to other companies (the actual enforcement of “wellbeing” changes) and that this act is purely selfish when other tech companies are clearly abusing their users, but I also think it’s good to at least start here. I think this sort of uneven hand is shitty, but I see why the US govt would go this route.

    I just wish user health was a higher priority than healthy profits. But that’s just not the case. By a long shot.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    Republicans talk of a completely free market where monopolies are free to flouish. Democrats talk of a free market with regulations to spur competition and keep the consumer safe - like from being sold only rotten meat unless they pay top dollar.

    Unfortunately the American gov't is now just a revolving door of C-level execs to plunder tax dollars for the bottom line and to fuck over they very same people generating the labor and paying the taxes.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I'm curious about the practicality. IP addresses only roughly correlate to geographic location. Are they going to geofence their app?

    Obviously the app can be removed from the US app stores, but I doubt they can prevent sideloading or just using a VPN to get access to a different country's app store. And what about all the devices that already have it installed? It's not like it will auto-delete.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It won't matter if there are ways to side load or circumvent, though. 99.9% of users will not be willing to be bothered with such things and the US market would effectively die for the app.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    I would have thought the same if there wasn't a counterexample right in front of me. We had some major social media blocked, and while there was a noticeable dropoff, they are nowhere near dead. Quite popular, in fact, including among children.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    it's not like it will auto-delete.

    You're probably right it won't, but it definitely could be done by Apple and Google.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    As I understand, using VPNs to access will be illegal in principle, and the VPNs can be on the hook for stiff penalties.

    In practice, it will depend on how zealously the government plays the cat and mouse game. Kind of the same situation as with China and VPNs that bypass the Great Firewall (ironic!).

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