TikTok sued Tuesday to block a US law that could force a nationwide ban of the popular app, following through on legal threats the company issued after President Joe Biden signed the legislation last month.
I’m not making a comparison between china and the us, I’m simply pointing out that banning chinese control over social media doesn’t address the vulnerability of social media being manipulated against users by other parties.
If you have a problem with china owning a social media platform because they could potentially scew public perception through manipulative practices, then I would imagine the core of the issue isn’t chinese ownership but the manipulative potential of social media algorithms generally.
I think most people would much prefer more transparent practices and user choice, such as what federated social media protocols provide. We shouldn’t simply ban the one we fear, we should regulate them all so that users have more choice and control themselves.
I’m not making a comparison between china and the us, I’m simply pointing out that banning chinese control over social media doesn’t address the vulnerability of social media being manipulated against users by other parties.
If you have a problem with china owning a social media platform because they could potentially scew public perception through manipulative practices, then I would imagine the core of the issue isn’t chinese ownership but the manipulative potential of social media algorithms generally.
I think most people would much prefer more transparent practices and user choice, such as what federated social media protocols provide. We shouldn’t simply ban the one we fear, we should regulate them all so that users have more choice and control themselves.