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hippata2023 t1_jaaezka wrote

Still waiting for the facebook ban anytime now....

FB is more of a danger than TikTok, and it's not even close.

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drewbaccaAWD t1_jabjl7j wrote

Facebook is a danger insomuch as it propagates nonsense to gullible people who use the platform as a source of news.

TikTok is a danger in that it's a backdoor to hack government devices and computers.

Both are a danger, but in very different ways.

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BluCurry8 t1_jace7o3 wrote

Hahaha. Sorry but Facebook has the same dangers. It is only speculation that TIK TOk is a conduit for spyware and or viruses. I would scrutinize the more mundane programs like games before Tik Tok. This is just racist propaganda for the purpose of political gain.

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drewbaccaAWD t1_jaet3s2 wrote

I can use Facebook through a browser.

The apps are where the danger lies. And while a Facebook app certainly could be abused, the threat doesn't come from foreign nationals.

I had a secret clearance in the Navy, and I fully support US government devices being blocked from apps from hostile countries. There's nothing racist about it as it's well known that China actively collects information about our military. Are they actively using TikTok to do so? That's speculative (and/or confirmed but not to the general population). Given the way the government runs over there, they certainly can if they aren't doing so at the moment.

I'm not a fan of how the far-right pulls all the red scare BS with China or how Trump and co. turned Covid into some bizarre xenophobic nonsense. But on this particular topic, the decision appears to be objectively made, not for political gain and propaganda as you propose.

I doubt that I'll convince you otherwise, but I wanted to be clear that my own support of this move is not based on racism or any dislike of the Chinese people more generally. I do not consider the current Chinese government trustworthy, and that's different from not trusting the people/ethnicity more broadly.

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