this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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The so-called TikTok ban is a sneaky move by the government to gain control over the internet. (docs.house.gov)
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
35 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

By giving the President the power to ban websites, not just apps, it opens up a whole new can of worms.

Instead of targeting foreign adversaries directly, the law holds US (or offshore) internet hosting services and app stores responsible for any breaches in security or privacy.

This is a Trojan horse that could lead to censorship and control over what people access online.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

This is like the third time the US government has passed legislation to take control of the internet. Must be a lot of red tape.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

They really think it's tiktok that makes people disgusted at the idf's crimes. I am sure more videos of IDF troops sniffing panties and shooting children to the shittiest EDM music you have ever heard will make the kids like them more.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, if tiktok wasn't around most people simply wouldn't see what IDF is doing because US companies aggressively censor such content.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

This is why you need a usb with Tails installed.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Well guess it's time for the lemmy team to work on federated DikDok.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Hell yes, let's gooooo!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

I remember reading in the early 00s nerds fearing walled gardens, now they're welcoming in the form of this ban.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago

The US is creating a bronze curtain.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Could a VPN get around this?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

I don't think a user would need a VPN, unless I'm reading this wrong it just means that the website can't be hosted on US servers or a US-based App store.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Yes, but I doubt many of the Tiktok creators/users will jump through vpn hoops. US may once again push to do something to civillians using VPNs, though that would harm the financial industry esp in regards to credit as well as those who work at home.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I think, if this passes, TikTok will just stop providing access to the app in American app stores. It shouldn't stop you from typing the website into your browser and accessing it, that would require ISPs to block access to it which I haven't heard of being part of the law and isn't in these screencaps.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

It would be hilarious if people started using Tor to visit the site only for it to get blocked because the entire network is pretty much owned/operated by US intelligence agencies at this point. If that happens it will confirm that "free speech" is only for racism and pedophilia.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, it would be the same as getting around the firewall in China.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

One of these days I need to figure out how to connect clients to the WireGuard appliance I set up on my VM host

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Does this mean the US will stop complaining abput thier firewall

[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago

Nah, they'll just bran US firewall as the freedom wall.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Hard agree except for the 'sneaky' bit.

Anyone following these events can see what it's really about; the ones that deny it are feigning stupidity.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

true, it was pretty blatant

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago

Surely the gamers will rise up over this....

...

...

...right?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Could the government ban this site or any of the fediverse sites if they feel like it with this language?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

why would an anti-communist gubmint ban a site openly communist? that doesn't make sense!

[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago

absolutely

[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago

The government has banned lots of websites for years

[–] [email protected] 43 points 8 months ago

land of freedom

claim to defend freeze peach

blocks websites

pottery

[–] [email protected] 33 points 8 months ago (2 children)

There's no way this gets past the senate, right? Right?!

For real though, just an updated PATRIOT act for the internet, and clearly a response to mass spread of effective working class/pro-Palestine propaganda. Can't have the slaves seeing other slave rebellions!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

At this point the only way I see it being blocked is as a last act of Mitch McConnel's "block everything during a Democratic presidency" strategy, which in the past has been set aside for bills like this so I don't see why they wouldn't let it through. The best way to block it might be to tie it to border security or something that the Reps don't want to give Dems a "win" on, lmao.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It is actually more likely it gets past the Senate than the Congress. The Senate has always been the more reactionary body and the more dependable one for the neocon imperialist deep state to rely on to advance their agenda.

We already have laws like this in Europe, I think it would be very naive to believe that America is so exceptional that it won't happen there.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Could this actually be a big deal for AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure? This might cause an economic crash accompanied by hundreds of thousands more layoffs if they decided to enforce it against US big tech companies.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

lol this will not "cause an economic crash" come on

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's kind of what I was thinking too like, great TikTok is the scapegoat and China bad blah blah but what about the rest of the internet 💀

Like others said I think they'll find some kind of loophole or way to apply it only to their "adversary" industries and twist it to be able to serve their own donors. If it even gets passed

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago

This kind of stuff will absolutely be applied selectively. The whole point of a law like this is to let you shut down sites that are inconvenient.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 8 months ago

They will not use this against their masters. They will use this to serve them. Shut down competition and control the narrative to serve capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 8 months ago (1 children)

All three are already in deep with the US security apparatus so I don't know how it could be used against them honestly.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago

Real lol it would get shot down the moment it actually threatened any of their daddy donors' profits, or they just wouldn't even propose it

This is the only reason I think they might not pass it, but if they twist it just enough to serve their masters like y'all said....