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Buttons

@ Buttons @programming.dev

Posts
3
Comments
197
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • TikTok's CEO is feeling the pressure and users are freaking out

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  • It wont work either, there's so many legal tricks that can change the owner of a company without actually changing who controls the company.

    "TikTok was evil and controlled by China, so we banned it. Oh look, here's a totally new website called TokTik owned by a US Citizen named Mr. ILoveChina who built a TikTok replacement in 15 minutes by hiring foreign consultants for 2 cents an hour."

  • ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say

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  • Why don't they just sell TikTok to a US Citizen who happens to believe TikTok should remain the same?

    TikTok would remain exactly the same, with the exact same algorithms, but it would then be the free speech of a US Citizen so everyone would be happy. Maybe TikTok couldn't send the data directly to China anymore, but they could certainly sell personal data on the shadowy data markets, just like every other US owned tech company does, and if that data happens to find its way to China then 🤷 .

    Shell companies hide the true owner of companies all the time. Why can't TikTok do the same?

    The problem is they targeted TikTok specifically in the law and it will be easy to circumvent. "TikTok is banned, but check out this totally new website called TokTik with the exact same content but owned by a US Citizen".

    This is why they should have created regulations that apply to all companies. Because making regulations that depend on who owns the company will only cause TikTok to change the technicality of who owns the company. They can do so through all kinds of legal tricks without ever actually giving up control.

  • TikTok's CEO is feeling the pressure and users are freaking out

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  • All the public will have to do is type "tiktok.com" in their browser and their computer will connect to directly to servers in China. For now, they don't even need a VPN.

    Then our politicians will start discussing a national firewall. We'll show that we're better than China by doing the same things China would do (/s).

  • TikTok's CEO is feeling the pressure and users are freaking out

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  • I've been wondering the same.

    What prevents a few US Citizens from forming a totally new and independent company called BitDance and then ByteDance sells them TikTok for $3.99, and then BitDance hires a company from China to help consult on the algorithms they use.

  • ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say

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  • Okay, but I'm more interested in intra-legal reasons this couldn't be done.

    I'm sure they could find 2, 3, or 3000 US Citizens who are willing to sell out to China, and then TikTok would be owned by US Citizens, but would still be doing what China wants.

  • ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say

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  • If TikTok's purpose is to spread Chinese propaganda, can't they just find a US Citizen that can run the website for them?

    "Yeah, it's my personal website where I exercise my 1st Amendment rights, also it has 100 million daily users and I happen to agree with China on a lot of things." If a US Citizen were to say this, there would be nothing illegal about it I think?

  • ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say

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  • I've always wondered what would happen if ByteDance sells TikTok for $5 to a US Citizen who frequently visits China for lavish vacations, and that US Citizen decide to keep all the algorithms the same.

    If China has an ulterior motive with TIkTok, can't they just find a US Citizen to carry out their ulterior motive?

  • Deleted

    Can an online library of classic video games ever be legal?

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  • Video games were such a wild west back in the 80s and 90s that it's often not clear who even owns the copyright anymore.

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • Earlier you said:

    i’m permanently anti democrat party

    and I read that as "I will never vote democrat". I see now that's not what you said.

    I too would love to see us do better than the two deeply flawed parties we have now. I wish we had a better voting system that allowed better parties.

  • Senate passes bill forcing TikTok’s parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature. Biden expected to sign on Wed.

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  • Bipartisan support is only rare when it comes to things like giving healthcare to the poor.

  • Senate passes bill forcing TikTok’s parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature. Biden expected to sign on Wed.

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  • I get you, but asking people to participate in democracy is not "weaponization", and I'm 100% okay with popular figures, even from other countries, telling people how to vote, because who doesn't tell people how to vote these days?

  • The Man Who Killed Google Search

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  • As an programmer, I want to think out loud about possible technical solutions.

    I would have kept the understandable / hand-made algorithm as the core of search results. If you want to do fancy machine learning, do it on the periphery and we can include the machine output in our algorithm and weight its importance by hand. This would allow us to back out of the decision, because we could lower the weight of the machine learning output as needed.

    It sounds like Google jumped strait to including the machine learning in the core algorithm though, and now with a decade of complexity in the core algorithm they are no longer able to go back without huge effort.

    In general, it's important to consider "is this a decision we can easily back out of?".

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • Also, to get that clarity I was seeking. Do you:

    1. Recommend people vote for Democrats (sounds like no).
    2. Recommend people vote for Republicans.
    3. Recommend people vote for third-parties or not vote at all.

    These are the only 3 possibilities. Which are you?

    For example, if you believe that Republicans are better for LGBT issues, then I want to hear you say it: "I think Republicans are better on LGBT issues". I have my own opinion on this which I will keep to myself, I really just want you to be clear about your view and then let everyone judge for themselves what they think is right.

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • All fair criticisms of Democrats in my opinion.

    The only thing I have a problem with is your "never vote Democrat" rule. You do you, but I believe voting in a way that will most help LGBT people, and most help women's reproductive rights, etc--I believe that if you want to cast votes that most support those causes, it will sometimes require voting for a Democrat.

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • I can understand your frustration. I currently feel that way towards a certain political party, but I have to keep an open mind because things change.

    For example, I don't doubt what you said Democrats was true in past decades, but today I believe the Democrats are more friendly towards LGBT rights than Republicans are. It appears things have changed on those specific issues.

    Maybe we wont agree, but let's at lets at least find clarity: Do you believe Republicans or Democrats are currently more friendly towards LGBT people?

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • The people are helpless lemming that mindlessly follow the algorithm, am I right?

    Is free speech a moral principle we believe in? I know the Constitution doesn't apply to everyone in the world, which is why I'm asking whether we believe in it morally, not legally.

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • What's the security issue? That China has personal information about millions of Americans?

    Who doesn't have personal information about millions of Americans these days?

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • TikTok's American data is already hosted on Oracle servers. Has been for awhile.

  • Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to Biden, who has already committed to signing it

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  • If China really is using TikTok for psyops, then they will refused to sell, flood TikTok with anti-government sentiment for its remaining days, and then direct people to just use the TikTok website hosted in China (is our government going to start blocking access to websites too?).

    One silver line here is "the youths" will learn, in an unusually clear way, that the government effects their lives and can screw up their lives.

  • Elon Musk is a pigeon CEO, 'he comes, sh*ts all over us, and goes', says former Tesla manager

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  • The true trickle down