TikTok reportedly plans ‘immediate’ Sunday shutdown in the US if it’s banned
TikTok reportedly plans ‘immediate’ Sunday shutdown in the US if it’s banned
TikTok could shut down entirely on Sunday if the US federal ban isn’t paused, despite the ban only immediately requiring app stores to stop offering downloads.Wes Davis (The Verge)
like this
themurphy
in reply to misk • • •Do it. Let the US be a closed censored state like it desperately wants to be.
They'll even put the hashtag #freespeach when they deliver their ban.
unlawfulbooger
in reply to themurphy • • •aviationeast
in reply to themurphy • • •lurch (he/him)
in reply to themurphy • • •cm0002
in reply to lurch (he/him) • • •XNX
in reply to lurch (he/him) • • •“Worried foreign actors use it to take advantage if the citizens” you mean like Cambridge analytica and facebook? Yet all the government did to them is go after their competitors and give them more power. How strange.
Yall are so thirsty for the boot because its currently stepping on the evil boogeyman our government has trained us to hate
Especially now that trumps coming into power its shocking so much people on here are excited for the government to shut down an app. What makes yall think they wont target lemmy/mastadon/etc once theyre the apps being used show people the genocides being commited by the US and israel
lurch (he/him)
in reply to XNX • • •XNX
in reply to lurch (he/him) • • •NineMileTower
in reply to themurphy • • •alcoholicorn
in reply to NineMileTower • • •themurphy
in reply to NineMileTower • • •recreationalcatheter
in reply to themurphy • • •Don't tell me, a .ml user came here to complain about whataboutism.
Dumn liberals, only tankies get to do concern trolling and whataboutism.
themurphy
in reply to recreationalcatheter • • •nomy
in reply to NineMileTower • • •skillissuer
in reply to themurphy • • •recreationalcatheter
in reply to themurphy • • •small44
in reply to misk • • •Riskable
in reply to small44 • • •Yes but diversity is good 👍
Why let the Chinese get all the eyeballs for propaganda? Surely we should give other nations a chance?
IMHO they should shut down every app that is both popular and has an exceedingly difficult to penetrate monopoly. Let the competitors rush in and do a it again when the same situation occurs!
NineMileTower
in reply to small44 • • •djsoren19
in reply to small44 • • •chronicledmonocle
in reply to misk • • •Any social media that you isn't open and self hostable (Lemmy, Mastodon, etc) should not be used. That includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, and more.
Most social media has, IMHO, been a net-negative for society and I am in the generation that grew up with it in its infancy.
like this
shoulderoforion and missingno like this.
BaroqueInMind
in reply to chronicledmonocle • • •Baron Von J
in reply to chronicledmonocle • • •chronicledmonocle
in reply to Baron Von J • • •abeorch
in reply to Baron Von J • •What do you mean? I'm posting from a #Friendica account to #mastodon, #lemmy and #pixelfed - One account. no worries
@chronicledmonocle @Technology
Technology reshared this.
Baron Von J
in reply to abeorch • • •Lemmy sits a bit apart from the rest in that it doesn't quite work for direct person-to-person interaction. Following Lemmy discussions on Mastodon is possible but clunky and Lemmy doesn't quite know how to quiet all the @ mentions and things in comments made from Mastodon so they look really loud/busy. I can see Lemmy communities from Firefish but I don't see any of the posts/comments (maybe I have to follow one first?). I've never tried following Lemmy from Pixelfed.
But each of those platforms has a different UI. The experience and features posting media on Pixelfed is much different. But I still have to setup a separate Pixelfed instance account if I want to make use of them. And my data will thus be spread across those instances. And people will need to follow both the Mastodon and Pixelfed accounts if they want to see both sets of posts. I'd love to just hat the one identity to manage with my content from all platforms associated with it.
abeorch
in reply to Baron Von J • •Use #Friendica - #lemmy works well there for me - you also got to realise there is a lot of playing around with UIs in different client apps - #Fedilab #racoon plus so many more
@Technology
Technology reshared this.
SynopsisTantilize
in reply to abeorch • • •abeorch
in reply to SynopsisTantilize • •Well Im not entirely sure what will happen using a lemmy account byt try - Grab your Lemmy account and login a client like #Fedilab - Find a Mastodon user and comment or follow them and watch what happens.
Technology reshared this.
Baron Von J
in reply to abeorch • • •Baron Von J
in reply to SynopsisTantilize • • •HiramFromTheChi
in reply to Baron Von J • • •Home - Solid
solidproject.orgBaron Von J
in reply to HiramFromTheChi • • •yokonzo
in reply to chronicledmonocle • • •chronicledmonocle
in reply to yokonzo • • •Default_Defect
in reply to chronicledmonocle • • •Sabata
in reply to yokonzo • • •cm0002
in reply to misk • • •Before the tankies get mad about the "censorship" of the US while failing to mention the LONG list of things you can get straight up arrested for in China
like this
shoulderoforion and Azathoth like this.
NaibofTabr
in reply to cm0002 • • •Or have a "tea drinking" session:
Why? because she's LGBTQ+, has a Uyghur partner, and has some friends in Western nations.
reference: hackingbutlegal.com/p/naomi-wu…
https://x.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1177145458503737344
EXCLUSIVE: Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes
Jackie Singh (Hacking, but Legal)Riskable
in reply to misk • • •Reminder: TikTok is not actually important. Everyone can live their lives without TikTok, YouTube, etc. There's an infinite amount of ways to entertain ourselves and there's a lot of competing apps.
This isn't the government abusing its power to shut down some small business/upstart. It's shutting down a serious national security threat and a monopoly. TikTok has abused their position many times in many ways, refused to cooperate, and has reached the, "find out" phase.
like this
shoulderoforion, Azathoth and MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown like this.
NineMileTower
in reply to Riskable • • •shoulderoforion
in reply to NineMileTower • • •like this
shoulderoforion likes this.
djsoren19
in reply to NineMileTower • • •NineMileTower
in reply to djsoren19 • • •misk
in reply to Riskable • • •like this
MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown and ElcaineVolta like this.
Obinice
in reply to Riskable • • •I've never even looked at it. Vine was pretty cool but then it died, Periscope was neat, but I dunno, something about Tiktok feels predatory, how addictive it is (from what I've seen of others using it).
Plus while they're all as bad as each other, I still trust China less than Microsoft with my stuff, so yeah. I'm just not interested in it and don't really see the appeal for myself. But I see why it's popular and it's not like, terrible, as a concept.
can
in reply to Obinice • • •I'm bothered that the app is 2gb.
why?
Nusm
in reply to can • • •can
in reply to Nusm • • •Buelldozer
in reply to Riskable • • •I was an adult before YT and I don't want to go back to a time before it existed. It's just too damn useful as a self education tool. Need to learn how to DIY a plumbing problem? Youtube. Need to learn how to subnet a network? Youtube. Interested in the History of Moldova? Youtube.
I finished my basement by watching youtube videos and learning how to do everything from framing to electrical to drywall to finishing work. There isn't anywhere else you can freely get the same breadth of knowledge on-demand.
nomy
in reply to Buelldozer • • •Wait until you learn about "libraries."
They're what we used before everyone had the worlds store of knowledge in their pocket.
I_Has_A_Hat
in reply to nomy • • •Can't get ahold of your friend in Europe and you're from the US? Just wait until you learn about "handwriting a letter and waiting weeks/months for it to get to them and having to wait even longer for a reply"
It's what we used to do before everyone found a much faster and more convenient way of doing something through modern technology.
nomy
in reply to I_Has_A_Hat • • •And I'm not sure the instant communication has been a benefit for us.
edit: especially when it becomes more and more misinformation and AI slop day by day
astropenguin5
in reply to nomy • • •Libraries are good, and a great community resource that should be treasured. However, no library can have the sheer volume of information available that YouTube and the Internet do. There is also the benefit of having more kinds of content, plus the ease of putting information out there.
For example, say I want to learn about the specifics of the defense economics of the war in Ukraine. Sure, I could wait 15 years for books to be published about it, hope my local library buys it, and then go and read it. Or I could log on to YouTube right now and go watch the latest Perun video on it which is also more entertaining. This also is an example of speed of new information being available on current events.
Both of these things have their strengths and weaknesses but it is simply a fact that YouTube has changed the availability of information to quite a high degree.
Perun
YouTubeDefault_Defect
in reply to nomy • • •Buelldozer
in reply to nomy • • •I still remember the smell of Card Catalogs; a nice mix of old paper and even older wood. Video instructions are often faster and easier to understand. They're also more accessible.
ianonavy
in reply to Riskable • • •I don’t entirely agree. TikTok isn’t just silly dances, thirst traps, and trends—it has played a significant role in community organizing and coalition-building across social movements. Consider the university Pro-Palestine encampments or mainstream news reporting on social media reaction to the United Healthcare CEO’s killing. Neither is solely attributable to TikTok, but the scale and nature of discussion on the platform have demonstrably influenced real-world conversation and activism. Another example is Keith Lee’s viral restaurant reviews transforming the viability of small mom and pop businesses overnight.
What sets TikTok apart isn’t just its massive reach (150 million monthly active users, nearly half the US population) but also its algorithm and features that enable collaborative, asynchronous discussion. Unlike YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels, where content is mostly one-off entertainment with fleeting comment sections, TikTok fosters actual conversations. Features like stitching allow users to directly respond to others, creating an evolving discourse where users can trace context. At times, entire feeds become dominated by discussion of a single topic—sometimes celebrity gossip, but often major events like October 7 or the United Healthcare CEO killing. This level of organic, large-scale discourse doesn’t happen the same way on other platforms. A great example of this dynamic was when TikTok users collectively decided to migrate to the actually Chinese app XiaoHongShu specifically to spite the US government. That didn’t just happen—it was discussed and coordinated.
In my view, TikTok is a national security threat not because of unproven claims about data leaks or state-authored propaganda, but because it provides an already restless and dissatisfied population with a real platform to discuss issues and organize. If a decentralized, open-source alternative existed at scale, TikTok itself wouldn’t be necessary. I acknowledge that TikTok—like any centralized platform—has real issues, particularly around privacy and censorship. But until such a decentralized alternative gains traction, TikTok remains important. And even then, I doubt the US government would be any more comfortable with a decentralized version, since it still wouldn’t give them control over what discussions take place.
XNX
in reply to Riskable • • •This is absurd. Facebook was literally used to sow division and help elect a fascist who constantly says he wants to rule for life and wants to imprison his enemies. Facebook and instagram is wayyyyy more of a national security threat.
A congressman explicitly stated tiktok videos are swaying the opinion of people against israel and america’s genocide in palestine and now its being shut down. This is an abuse of power and its laughable you dont care because “china bad”
If its not censorship because theres alternative ways to communicate than nothing is censorship other than being killed
ubergeek
in reply to Riskable • • •National security threat?
So how come Twitter ain't shut down then?
shoulderoforion
in reply to misk • • •like this
shoulderoforion likes this.
yeehaw
in reply to misk • • •sunzu2
in reply to misk • • •Gen z better prep for 'em withdrawls... They love telling how they don't drink or do drugs haha
Let's see how they will cope.
Some app is about to explode
alcoholicorn
in reply to sunzu2 • • •like this
sunzu2 likes this.
sunzu2
in reply to alcoholicorn • • •Corkyskog
in reply to sunzu2 • • •like this
sunzu2 likes this.
alcoholicorn
in reply to sunzu2 • • •No, it'll probably take weeks to days; with the new law the president can unilaterally ban any foreign-owned app with 1 million users.
Watch Biden ban it on Jan 19th as a final fuck you.
MolecularCactus1324
in reply to misk • • •like this
MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown and shoulderoforion like this.
vala
in reply to MolecularCactus1324 • • •TommySoda
in reply to misk • • •misk
in reply to TommySoda • • •IIRC TikTok is rather top heavy in terms of income and this highest tier of influencers is diversified across all media channels anyway.
Regular folk have better luck making money on YouTube and Instagram so TikTok creators are unusual bunch. In my experience (which is very likely shaped by the algorithm) they are a mix of talent show performers, odd personalities and no longer relevant one hit wonders that got lucky. They’re mostly sad about losing that space because it’s so different to alternatives. I don’t think anyone that doesn’t have much money feels in power anymore so what are they going to do?
like this
WadeTheWizard likes this.
Corkyskog
in reply to misk • • •Yeah, but those affiliate links made people bank, especially during the holidays.
I actually got like half my ideas and my daughters from the tiktok shop. (Then went and bought it on Aliexpress)
Pika
in reply to TommySoda • • •recreationalcatheter
in reply to misk • • •Cool
Bye tiktok
like this
MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown and shoulderoforion like this.
Cycle0861
in reply to recreationalcatheter • • •shoulderoforion
in reply to Cycle0861 • • •like this
shoulderoforion likes this.
Cycle0861
in reply to shoulderoforion • • •recreationalcatheter
in reply to Cycle0861 • • •Too bad you can't find a guide to locating like-minded folks on TikTok anymore
It's really making me super sad 😢
Cycle0861
in reply to recreationalcatheter • • •recreationalcatheter
in reply to Cycle0861 • • •shininghero
in reply to misk • • •Aatube
in reply to shininghero • • •There's a ton of domestic TikTok clones already, like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
They already have.
With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’ - Technology - Mbin
kbin.melroy.orgBaron Von J
in reply to shininghero • • •Doesn't look like it to me. I tried to sign up yesterday and haven't received the validation email.
Edit: and the UI was very barren and minimal on the video I watched.
NineMileTower
in reply to shininghero • • •Nowhere near imo. Download the app and see for yourself. It needs WORK.
CeeBee_Eh
in reply to NineMileTower • • •Link to download? I checked the Play store and there's a billion apps called Loops
Edit: I found it
loops.video
Loops by Pixelfed
loops.videoubergeek
in reply to shininghero • • •SplashJackson
in reply to misk • • •like this
MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown likes this.
NastyNative
in reply to misk • • •Rhaedas
in reply to misk • • •rabber
in reply to misk • • •ShinkanTrain
in reply to misk • • •motor_spirit
in reply to misk • • •DocumentingReality
in reply to misk • • •If you have $50 Billion, you can buy Tiktok.
I read that Elon Musk might buy it. But the CEO of Tiktok stated that, it isn't true.
Why would he even need another social media? Besides, dictating what he wants on that site...and make it worse?
I like when Jack Dorsey ran Twitter. It is a crap hole now on there.
As for Tiktok, it won't matter to me since I am not on there.
bdonvr
in reply to DocumentingReality • • •Not if they're not selling
FarceOfWill
in reply to DocumentingReality • • •ramenshaman
in reply to misk • • •Optional
in reply to misk • • •Cool.
Cool cool cool.
RememberTheApollo_
in reply to misk • • •Ok.
(I bet tiktok doesn’t shut down, but if it does I can’t wait for my kids to tell me about all the meltdowns at middle school over tiktok shutting down. Too many parents let their kids have unfettered internet access. No, mine don’t have tiktok.)
vala
in reply to RememberTheApollo_ • • •Bet they do
RememberTheApollo_
in reply to vala • • •No. They don’t.
I installed the home LAN, set site restrictions, app restrictions, use parental controls on all their devices, use OpenDNS family shield, PiHole, and app installation controls on their devices.
Even of they did find a way to see it I would see the IP address flagged.
Sounds draconian, but social media is fucked up for kids. They can have access at 16. They have a shitload of other internet freedom, though. They’re good kids.
Whateley
in reply to RememberTheApollo_ • • •GooberEar
in reply to misk • • •A lot of people are saying that the US government banned TikTok, but from what I'm understanding, that's not really what happened and what's happening. Or have I misinterpreted things? From what I understand, they were told they had to divest and sell, but they fought that and now are opting to shutdown rather than comply. Is that not the case?
Either way, I'm gonna go all "I walked to school uphill both ways barefoot in a meter of snow" on this and say that my very little experience with TikTok users seems to suggest that its not much more than pure, unadulterated brain rot. So regardless of the fact(s) (i.e. shutdown / banned / etc), there's maybe the tiniest sliver of a net positive here. Or not. It doesn't affect me one way or the other and given where this country is politically (as well as where it is headed), I don't give a rat poopoo.
GreenKnight23
in reply to GooberEar • • •surewhynotlem
in reply to GooberEar • • •It's a superior algorithm. You get what you engage with.
I'm going to miss the largest community of left leaning American creators, educators, and activists. I've learned so much about politics, social engagement, and community building.
But that's just my feed. I'm sure there's a lot of crap too.
FarceOfWill
in reply to GooberEar • • •I'm posting the same comment in two replies here now, terrible behaviour, but yes exactly this was an attempt to force a sale and get tiktok into American ownership.
It feels very neat that America would think tiktok would ultimately choose the option where it gets more money, but that the Chinese instead choose control.
GreenKnight23
in reply to FarceOfWill • • •crystalmerchant
in reply to misk • • •misk
in reply to crystalmerchant • • •hansolo
in reply to crystalmerchant • • •This is all about pressuring Bytedance to sell to any of the large US companies dying to get that user base. Remember that one party is currently loaded with tech bros with no ethics.
Bytedance seems willing to play chicken and hit the wall as a gamble about coming out of this less hurt than anyone else.
rob200
in reply to misk • • •“They” say they are banning it over national security concerns I think it’s deeper then that. They can’t have a socialist like platform having an audience. Which in my opinion is why they wanted to force a sell or just ban Tiktok.
I don’t think, that they will go after Rednote if it doesn’t gain popularity the way that Tiktok did.
B312
in reply to rob200 • • •rob200
in reply to B312 • • •Maybe not TIktok itself, I was mainly referring that it's maintained by a Chinese company. Too many people in the u.s think China is communist, but it's lately more like socialism.
But whether it's socialism, or communism, the Republican party most outspokenly, won't have either one of those. Mainly because it can devalues the capitalists.
GreenKnight23
in reply to rob200 • • •China is socialist like 1940 Germany was socialist.
can't really explain those camps away, can they...
recreationalcatheter
in reply to rob200 • • •rob200
in reply to recreationalcatheter • • •It's a mixed economy. and really, you're going to try and say that China doesn't have a socialist leaning?
I'm not meaning to say, that China does not have some form of capitalism; i'm saying that the u.s gov. doesn't want a country that supports socialism to have an influence and that that is what brought my theory. The u.s tends to mostly support capitalism. There is barely any room for socialism in current u.s politics. Socialism barely makes it on the news in the u.s.
GreenKnight23
in reply to rob200 • • •misk
in reply to rob200 • • •Snapz
in reply to misk • • •I see ZERO discussion about how this is obvious theatre. We are so incapable of standing up to basic manipulation tactics from the right.
trump first started using tiktok as another xenophobic boogeyman, in what was a fairly nuanced situation - trump's position being completely wrong, but ultimately some truth to the fact that companies run in China inherently have involvement of the Chinese government and thule should be reached, monitored and if abused, access should be removed.
This actual push was always meant to be something to hang on Biden admin either way (because again, some valid points to a potential ban) but in reality trump will now "save" this artificial shutdown to "restore tiktok" and millions of low information voters and non voters alike will think he did something. And in the meantime, whatever the fuck this lemon8 and red whatever apps are will likely be a huge privacy monitoring home as midst will leave things dormant in background as well after tiktok is "restored".
Again, we are just so I'll equipped for anything to do with technology.
Lemminary
in reply to Snapz • • •I agree with you.
And, well, I assume everything coming from the US is ~~theater~~ entertainment from the get-go. That's why I don't even bother discussing it anymore although I have recently pointed that out about Trump is trying to divert with the Greenland fiasco and the media is being complicit. This is just another one of the pile. I think he's purposely flooding the media and pushing for Americans' mental exhaustion.
I'd say that's an understatement. The Chinese government is greatly involved in many aspects of their social media because they don't have speech protections for individuals nor the press. Xi wants absolute control, so the Chinese government is also involved in other questionable news this week about sponsoring hackers who were primarily targeting the US for gathering intelligence: Millions of Americans caught up in Chinese hacking plot - US. They had state-sponsored malware on 10,000 computers targeting civil rights activists. It doesn't seem in their interest to play fair, I wonder what their strategy would be if Trump steps in to stroke hes ego.
Millions of Americans caught up in Chinese hacking plot - US
By Mattea Bubalo (BBC News)Lemminary
in reply to Lemminary • • •DancingBear
in reply to misk • • •recreationalcatheter
in reply to DancingBear • • •mlg
in reply to misk • • •I wonder if they'll sell or go down in flames.
If they sell, it'll just become overly moderated like Facebook.
If they go down in flames, a bunch of overnight competitors will compete to succeed.
holo
in reply to mlg • • •crashoverride
in reply to mlg • • •misk
in reply to crashoverride • • •OldWoodFrame
in reply to misk • • •I know the technicality is that it will be voluntarily stopping service rather than just ending new downloads like the ban says.
But "app will shut down when banned" is almost comically anti-news.
WrenFeathers
in reply to misk • • •“Utilities threatened to shut off my power so… I will turn off all the lights in protest!”
That’ll show ‘em.
Squizzy
in reply to WrenFeathers • • •Not the same. If all the users lose access in one go and a prompt allows them to easily send a mail to their representatives then they can put pressure.
If they allow content to flow it could be 12+ months before some users start receiving errors when the ban is out of their mind. They might associate the less US content with the app not being good anymore.