US lawmakers introduce bill to ban TikTok

[Chimpzy]

Ah, so that's how it is.

 

[Chimpzy]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Trump Open to Musk or Ellison Buying TikTok in Joint Venture With US

President Donald Trump said he would be open to billionaire supporter Elon Musk or Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison purchasing social video app TikTok as part of a joint venture with the US government.

“I have the right to make a deal,” Trump said at an event alongside Ellison at the White House on Tuesday. “So what I’m thinking about saying to somebody is buy it and give half to the United States of America, half, and we’ll give you the permit, and they’ll have a great partner.”

While TikTok temporarily went offline over the weekend, Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 – his first day in office – to extend the deadline for a sale by 75 days. While it’s not clear that Trump has the authority to extend the deadline, it may not ultimately matter.

ByteDance Ltd. has publicly refused to sell TikTok, though prospective buyers hope the Supreme Court’s ruling in support of a national security law forcing the company to either sell or shutter the service in the US, along with the temporary shutdown, could push it to reconsider.

“You have an asset that has no value or has a trillion-dollar value,” Trump said. “It all depends on whether or not the United States gives the permit.”

China’s foreign and commerce ministries didn’t respond to requests for comment on whether Beijing would allow the American government to own part of TikTok. Its Foreign Ministry on Monday said that it’s up to individual companies to make decisions about their operations and acquisitions, and the hope was that “the US can listen to rational voices and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment.”

While Beijing sees space for negotiating who buys a stake in the video-sharing app, it’s “unlikely” to accept a deal driven by politics, according to Zhu Feng, executive dean of Nanjing University’s School of International Studies. “The pursuits of US interests should be based on rules, not on the strength of the US government,” he added.

Potential bidders are already lining up. A group of American investors assembled by tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley that included MrBeast, the internet’s most-followed and highest-earning content creator, announced a bid earlier Tuesday.

Billionaire Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary made a formal offer to buy TikTok earlier this month. O’Leary has already met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss the bid, and McCourt has made clear he’d be happy to buy TikTok without the service’s coveted content algorithm, which ByteDance and China’s government have said is not for sale.

“We’re not conflicted in any way and we have the cash,” O’Leary told Bloomberg News in an interview. His bid of $20 billion is derived from a rough calculation based on TikTok’s US operations as a share of ByteDance’s overall value, he said. Dispensing with the algorithm also makes it a much cleaner proposition, satisfying people concerned about Chinese “spyware” embedded within, he added.

Unlike Musk, who may face antitrust concerns as he already owns X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, O’Leary’s group has no complications that could slow or prevent a deal. “I think we could close it in 90 days,” the Shark Tank star said.

Amazon.com Inc. and Oracle, both of which already do business with TikTok, have also been floated as possible suitors. After assurances from Trump that he wouldn’t enforce the law, Oracle notably helped restore TikTok’s app on Sunday after a roughly 14-hour US shutdown even though it could face fines for doing so.

Larry Ellison, second left, with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son and OpenAI’s Sam Altman at the White House.Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg
Ellison was at the White House on Tuesday to announce a new joint artificial intelligence venture alongside SoftBank Group Corp. and OpenAI.

Read more: Trump Unveils AI Investment Plan with OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle

At the end of his remarks, Trump suggested he might download TikTok on his phone.

“I think I might put it there. I think I’ll get it right now. By the way, again we won the young vote. I think I won it through TikTok, so I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” he said.

I like that this sale will come down to whatever billionaire brown-noses Trump the best. And also, you know, potential partial but direct US gov ownership.

 

[Seanchaidh]

 

[Trunkage]

Yeah, we know. They've banned people for using the slogan Free Palestine.

But it's not just about Tiktok. They've done it everywhere. The right-wing controls everything and bans heaps of people. It's been the plan the whole time

I don't know why people fell for the 'ban TikTok for security reasons' that was clearly bullshit from the start. Anyone who claimed that was used just like Tim Pool and Dave Rubin was used by Russia

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Yeah, we know. They've banned people for using the slogan Free Palestine.

But it's not just about Tiktok. They've done it everywhere. The right-wing controls everything and bans heaps of people. It's been the plan the whole time

I don't know why people fell for the 'ban TikTok for security reasons' that was clearly bullshit from the start. Anyone who claimed that was used just like Tim Pool and Dave Rubin was used by Russia

That's pretty rich when democrats have been far more anti free speech than republicans. The TikTok bill was voted in by heavily majority of both democrats and republicans. The democratic VP candidate literally said the 1st amendment doesn't protect misinformation and hate speech when it very much does. But yes, the right wing controls everything!!!!! We couldn't even say that it just might be possible that a coronavirus outbreak came from a city where there was a coronavirus lab, that was the left wing stopping that.

There are legit security concerns about TikTok, why would you want a foreign government being able to push any messaging to your entire population? No thanks to that whether it's China or say England.

 

[Silvanus]

We couldn't even say that it just might be possible that a coronavirus outbreak came from a city where there was a coronavirus lab, that was the left wing stopping that.

Really? You couldn't say it? What happened to you if you said it?

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Really? You couldn't say it? What happened to you if you said it?

Facebook lifts ban on posts claiming COVID-19 was man-made, amid revitalized origins debate

President Joe Biden asked for a new look into the origins on Wednesday.

abcnews.go.com

Also, a CBS anchor literally just said that free speech was the reason Hitler and Nazis happened...

 

[Silvanus]

Facebook lifts ban on posts claiming COVID-19 was man-made, amid revitalized origins debate

President Joe Biden asked for a new look into the origins on Wednesday.

abcnews.go.com

OK, not quite the same thing but OK.

Also, a CBS anchor literally just said that free speech was the reason Hitler and Nazis happened...

That statement from Margaret Brennan truly was very, very stupid.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

OK, not quite the same thing but OK.



That statement from Margaret Brennan truly was very, very stupid.

Trunkage said people can't say "free Palestine" on Twitter I think. I said you couldn't say coronavirus could have come from the coronavirus lab on Facebook. How are those 2 things different (outside of Twitter and Facebook not being the same platform obviously)?

 

[Silvanus]

Trunkage said people can't say "free Palestine" on Twitter I think. I said you couldn't say coronavirus could have come from the coronavirus lab on Facebook. How are those 2 things different (outside of Twitter and Facebook not being the same platform obviously)?

Well Trunkage specifically said he was talking about getting banned from the platform, whereas you just said people couldn't say it.

It's fine, you clarified.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Well Trunkage specifically said he was talking about getting banned from the platform, whereas you just said people couldn't say it.

It's fine, you clarified.

I think Trunkage was talking about TikTok removing "free palestine" posts (as I found a story about that happening when TikTok came back online), don't see anything about Twitter or Tiktok banning people. Saw that Musk said like a year back that saying "from the river to the sea" would get people suspended. Also, before Musk took over, Twitter did ban Trump from posting, that's pretty problematic in banning the US President from the "public square". Surely the right wing was responsible for that because Trunkage said the right wing controls everything!

 

[Trunkage]

I think Trunkage was talking about TikTok removing "free palestine" posts (as I found a story about that happening when TikTok came back online), don't see anything about Twitter or Tiktok banning people. Saw that Musk said like a year back that saying "from the river to the sea" would get people suspended. Also, before Musk took over, Twitter did ban Trump from posting, that's pretty problematic in banning the US President from the "public square". Surely the right wing was responsible for that because Trunkage said the right wing controls everything!

I love smelling the 'Free Speech' in the morning

Trump broke the community rules of Twitter. As we found out from the Twitter Files, he broke it regularly. Twitter gave him so many chance and he just kept on breaking them. They BENT OVER BACKWARDS for him. And you still whinge and *****. No one has more special treatment than Trump.

As to the president being allowed on a public square, Twitter is a private entity. Its made up nonsense because Trump just likes breaking rules

 

[Phoenixmgs]

I love smelling the 'Free Speech' in the morning

Trump broke the community rules of Twitter. As we found out from the Twitter Files, he broke it regularly. Twitter gave him so many chance and he just kept on breaking them. They BENT OVER BACKWARDS for him. And you still whinge and *****. No one has more special treatment than Trump.

As to the president being allowed on a public square, Twitter is a private entity. Its made up nonsense because Trump just likes breaking rules

I know social media is a private entity; however, it has become the new public square so it's very problematic that a private entity can make up their own rules removing posts, banning people, etc. Hence, why I've been saying a social media platform should be run by the government so the 1st amendment applies.

 

[Schadrach]

I know social media is a private entity; however, it has become the new public square so it's very problematic that a private entity can make up their own rules removing posts, banning people, etc. Hence, why I've been saying a social media platform should be run by the government so the 1st amendment applies.

Definitely won't happen while the President and his Chancellor Special Government Employee both own social media companies. But hypothetically if the government wanted to run a nationalized social media platform specifically to serve as a digital public square there are free, open source options available. Specifically open source options that will also cross-communicate with other similar servers (like email does), one of which Truth Social is technically built on a modified version of (but has that feature disabled).

Nothing hypothetically stops the US from spinning up official Mastodon (Xitter-like), Lemmy, (Reddit-like) Friendica (Facebook-like), Pixelfed (Instagram-like), Peertube (Youtube-like), Matrix (Discord-like), etc instances. Ideally in pairs, one for general use by the population and the other specifically for use by government employees operating in their official capacities.

 

[Trunkage]

Definitely won't happen while the President and his Chancellor Special Government Employee both own social media companies. But hypothetically if the government wanted to run a nationalized social media platform specifically to serve as a digital public square there are free, open source options available. Specifically open source options that will also cross-communicate with other similar servers (like email does), one of which Truth Social is technically built on a modified version of (but has that feature disabled).

Nothing hypothetically stops the US from spinning up official Mastodon (Xitter-like), Lemmy, (Reddit-like) Friendica (Facebook-like), Pixelfed (Instagram-like), Peertube (Youtube-like), Matrix (Discord-like), etc instances. Ideally in pairs, one for general use by the population and the other specifically for use by government employees operating in their official capacities.

The government does not have protections like companies do for things posted on their apps

Edit: it's just opening itself up for a lot of law suits

The whole Free Speech is just Musk and Trump trolling people like Phoenixmgs so they can get power. They do not care about Free Speech. It's just a trigger word for Phoenixmgs

You never want either of these two making any of these apps. Free Speech wouldn't be part of it

 

[Phoenixmgs]

The government does not have protections like companies do for things posted on their apps

Edit: it's just opening itself up for a lot of law suits

The whole Free Speech is just Musk and Trump trolling people like Phoenixmgs so they can get power. They do not care about Free Speech. It's just a trigger word for Phoenixmgs

You never want either of these two making any of these apps. Free Speech wouldn't be part of it

What are you talking about? I care very much about free speech and the democrats are the ones limiting it more than the republicans currently. The government can buy a current social media platform, you don't need them to make it. Also, if Elon (or whoever) did make an social media platform for the government it would HAVE TO abide by the 1st amendment. You do realize what Twitter did with the Twitter files would have been unconstitutional if it was government owned, right?