• vinniep@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Either tiktok becomes an American company or leaves… Ah, the free market has spoken

    People keep saying this and I’m struggling to understand where this idea is coming from. The bill isn’t saying that they have to sell TikTok to a US company. They don’t have to sell it to the US government, or an owner in the US. Just divorce the company from explicit control by the Chinese government. Currently, the government can request any data they want from TikTok and they are obligated to provided it. Similarly, business laws in China mean that the government can also push changes down into the company, like a tweak to the algorithm to influence foreign perceptions of a topic for example.

    The requirements laid out in this bill are meant to break that obligation and influence. It doesn’t say who should own the company - only who shouldn’t.

    • exanime@lemmy.today
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      1 year ago

      Currently, the government can request any data they want from TikTok and they are obligated to provided it.

      You mean exactly like all big tech in the USA?

      • fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        They have get a warrent to force getting data and I know of no legal obligation for platforms to change algorithms to promote or demote content. Even the twitter files showed that twitter employees voluntarily agreed to work with federal departments, but had no obligations to