I also had a brief read on the bill you linked and some relavent articles. The bill only cite “national security” yet doesn’t explain what “national security” it causes.
The Bloomberg article states a few reasons, but none satisfied me to justify a ban. For example, reason 1 points out that the algoritm of generating feed is advanced and intoxicating. So they should be punished for a well written and effective algorithms?
Yes, there are and were dumb to harmful contents found on TikTok. However, I think it should be a content moderation issue, not a national security issue. I heard people can find CSAM on Twitter and Discord, harmful and damaging it’s, should it get banned too due to “national security” concerns? It just have a smell of unfair.
Just my two cents.
Disclosure: I don’t use Facebook, Intagram, Twitter, nor TikTok. I do have a Discord account.
It not uncommon to see misinformatuon to fabricated information appears on many SNS platforms including Facebook and Twitter. It is not unheard of Russia use social media to influence election too via popular platform that is US based. All SNS are subject to the same problem, but only TikTok have more active users thus more far reaching, but again this is a content moderation problem, not the inherent fault of TikTok itself. Whom should perform content moderation is a business decision. It should not be dictated by law, though they can make moderation standards that companies needs to comply. I think this is a bit unfair to just targeting TikTok only, and should be universal.
EDIT:
political content you’re exposed to selected by an algorithm that is opaque and constantly changing
Isn’t TikTok opened access to its algorithm for reviewing?
Actually it is not solely a content moderation problem. While some dumb and physically harmful content should be subject to moderation, speeches should be protected. Isn’t American all about the word “Freedom”? It should be free to speak what they believe, right?
However, the recommendation algorithms might need some regulations that categorize content and have relevant display policies. For example, political content, user generated and advertisement, should be distributed equally for all views (i.e. a user will see content for all candidates for roughly same amount of time). The “addictive” thing shouldn’t be regulated as that the point of the algorithm: maximize user engagement. However, there could be a rating system similar to game ratings that affect who at what age can use which platform. Otherwise, it should be free for one to addict to something, as long as it doesn’t cause a physical harm to himself and others.
Because the Chinese government has inordinate control over Chinese companies and is not a friendly government.
Friendly or not is subjective. I dislike it doesn’t means others are the same, nor I should force them to believe so.
They routinely use technology to control their own population and
In US, instead of the government, companies use technology to influence/control their own users. Personalized adverts is one. Also other recommendation algorithms. Yes the scale and motives is different but is one better then the other? I don’t think so.
work closely with hackers in their country that attack US businesses and consumers.
The United States does have its cyber arm that conducts offensive operations, such as the Equation Group. Any country that does not have its own hacking team would be seriously remiss.
There absolutely should be serious legislation on data gathering and how large platforms manipulate public perception with their algorithms,
I totally agree but should be applied universally
but TikTok is a national security threat at a level the others are not explicitly because the Chinese government has control over it.
I can agree that it is a matter of national security if it can affect elections “greatly”, not because of other government have controls. However, the determination of “greatly” is hard to quantify. And even if quantifiable, it is not unique to TikTok as there are many platforms can influence elections, present and in the future. Are we going to ban every single platform that can affect elections “greatly”? This is a slippery slop opening for abuse.
All in all, I still hardly justify a bill just to target TikTok or other platforms that is controlled by a “foreign adversary”. Law should treat every entity equal and without discrimination, based on some ideological differences or political preferences.
China can be an enemy of the US, but that doesn’t mean all US citizens view China as enemy. You can find a tons of creators on YouTube defending China’s way to do things and be friend with which I found disgusting.
I would also believe US also does pre-plan malware to key infrastructures including power, communications, and health care in other potential adversaries, not limited to China. To them is also a matter of national security. It is just simply a cat and mouse game. For randomware though, I didn’t heard much a Chinese group doing it, but more by Russia and North Korea.
The keyword here is “uncomfortable”, but I highly doubt should this translate to a law. If one can make laws because feeling “uncomfortable” without concrete evidences, that US will become more authoritarian than its commitment on fairness and freedom.
Before banning TikTok, we need to assess what threat it poses, not because others say so. The majority of threats people claim of TikTok is “it is a spyware because Chinese government can view data when they wants”, and “it can effect elections”. For the first one, a federal level privacy and data collection bill is far more appropriate. This is long due already, and don’t do GDPR’s where companies can self claim compliant but requires an accredited independent auditor. Second one is more tricky. The root cause can be think as its algorithm being too effective. Maybe a rating system for algorithm like for game would work?
Again, law should be applied equally and without discrimination based on ideological differences or political preferences. Even it looks to be “national security”, it must be assessed thoroughly with concrete evidences, rather some hypothetical claims.
the US is increasingly losing the cyber security war because people can’t do simple things like not plug random usb’s they found on the side of the road into their work computers
I’m not surprised at this when Americans refuse to ware a simple medical mask during COVID.
First is the organizing feature. It doesn’t let me to have sub folders which I need to categorize items.
Second is the TAN management to store my MFA backup codes. A feature the original Keepass have but KeepassXC doesn’t. You can use notes to mimic but it doesn’t auto expire after use, i.e. more manual work.
That “Discord” can be replaced with any IM platforms. Slack, Martix, Gitter, you name it. They are still hard to search. By no means I like the idea of using IM platforms as a support portal/community. I still think forums-like platforms are the best, yet I don’t want to create another account to engage with a project that I use.
Github, Lemmy and Stack Exchange enables one account for multiple projects/topics, which I quite like. Or mailing lists. That can do as well.
Does anyone have any recommendations for bug trackers with a forum feature? Basically something where users can report issues, request features, and ask questions, all about a specific service. Preferably, I’d like something that integrates with GitHub issues, but that’s not a requirement. Also I’d like something like a...
I’m setting up FDE and wonders which one is better. “LVM over LUKS” or “LUKS over LVM”? Or something else? Does one is definitely better then the other? What are your preference?...
I’m planning FDE on my laptop which have 2 drives. I originally plan to use LUKS on LVM as I can use LVM to join two drives into one. But now I wonders if my choice is right.
Microsoft has adhered to the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) by enabling Windows 11 users to uninstall Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft Bing, and more. (alternativeto.net)
IBM says their latest AI-enhanced storage platform can identify ransomware in under a minute (www.techspot.com)
Am I too pessimistic about this? Today it can detect ransomware, the next day could be malware, and the day after can be any file....
A Beginner's Guide to LVM in Linux - tchncs (discuss.tchncs.de)
Desperate TikTok lobbying effort backfires on Capitol Hill (www.bbc.com)
Why VRAM’s So Important For Gaming: 4GB vs. 8GB (www.youtube.com)
The Best Password Managers in 2024 (blog.thenewoil.org)
2023 was a record-breaking year for cybersecurity in a bad way. Ransomware payments hit a record high of $1.1 billion, which is likely to…
Please don't use Discord for FOSS projects (drewdevault.com)
Recommendations for a bug tracker/forum?
Does anyone have any recommendations for bug trackers with a forum feature? Basically something where users can report issues, request features, and ask questions, all about a specific service. Preferably, I’d like something that integrates with GitHub issues, but that’s not a requirement. Also I’d like something like a...
I installed Windows 10 in a virtual machine...man, this is straight up dystopian.
https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/be22ba36-0ad7-4d26-91d0-46ee2a934846.png...
FOSS alternative to Unsee.cc
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/12593641...
Question about the order of FDE steps with LUKS and LVM
I’m setting up FDE and wonders which one is better. “LVM over LUKS” or “LUKS over LVM”? Or something else? Does one is definitely better then the other? What are your preference?...