Discussion

• @esqueer_ Alejandra Caraballo on x

  @evacide It's so clear that Meta lobbyists are pushing this. They can't buy TikTok or compete, so they want to destroy them.

• @ghelt Gail Helt on x

  The CCP neither cares about nor protects the privacy of its own citizens. Why would anyone think it would be interested in protecting ours? https://twitter.com/...

• @jason_kint Jason Kint on x

  Bingo. And facebook's entire biz model is deeply threatened by privacy legislation that limits tracking something Apple has proven, EU is enforcing and California is imminent. Surveillance capitalism is in a bad place. Not TikTok's. https://twitter.com/...

• @politicalmath PoliMath on x

  TikTok has violated Apple and Google's privacy policies enormously. Both platforms have set-in-stone policies that would normally get TikTok banned from their mobile stores They have refused to enforce their own policies, but only for TikTok

• @acealbert2022 @acealbert2022 on x

  I strongly suggest Americans ban the government, they can't solve the inflation, neither did they solve the homelessness , the worst is that more than 6,000 ppl killed in gun violence so far in 2023, they never want to ban the gun sales, but they want to ban Tiktok. https://twitt…

• @_theekword Bareback Contessa on x

  The hearing was so bizarre and US lawmakers were at times incoherent and borderline sinophobic. https://twitter.com/...

• @lisaabramowicz1 Lisa Abramowicz on x

  “The TikTok battles are indicative of the end of an era. This era where U.S.-China business relations can continue absent considerations of geopolitics is over.” https://www.wsj.com/...

• @reginaiplau @reginaiplau on x

  Tik Tok's CEO Shou Chew was subjected to 5 hours of savage grilling in Congress yesterday. US lawmakers behaved like Hong Kong's opposition before our electoral reform - hostile, rude, biased, and approached the hearing with a closed mind. https://www.cnn.com/...

• @bongkersz @bongkersz on x

  LMAO sorry but what the TikTok CEO got to do with the human rights abuse and Uyghur issue.. wrong person and platform to ask. https://twitter.com/...

• @sarahfrier Sarah Frier on x

  Well that didn't work: https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @luciengreaves Lucien Greaves on x

  That's right. If China wants all of our personal data they're just going to have to buy it from Facebook like everybody else! https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @jimpethokoukis James Pethokoukis on x

  “Chew faced hostile questioning from members of both parties — who often cut off his attempts to answer — in his appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.” https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @technology

• @shiraovide Shira Ovide on x

  “The people most responsible for failing to safeguard Americans' data, arguably, are American lawmakers.” by @WillOremus https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @reppfluger Rep. August Pfluger on x

  Texas stands for freedom and transparency, and we don't want Tik Tok's project. https://twitter.com/...

• @julesterpak Jules Terpak on x

  Detriments aside, there are massive benefits to the TikTok platform that US-owned social media platforms still can't touch. In terms of reach potential, diversity of thought, and much more — it really does provide a new level of power to the people when operating with good... htt…

• @marcorubio Marco Rubio on x

  If @tiktok_us is in fact a “private” company not under the control of China then how does the Chinese government have the power to block its forced sale? https://www.axios.com/...

• @adamkovac Adam Kovacevich on x

  If TikTok were just an innocent video app, the Chinese govt probably wouldn't care too much about letting it be sold. The fact that they DO care kinda supports the idea that China's govt views TikTok as an asset. https://www.wsj.com/...

• @munster_gene Gene Munster on x

  I suspect Tesla and Apple are concerned about the tone of today's hearing given the significance of China in their respective businesses.

• @dangillmor@mastodon.social Dan Gillmor on mastodon

  Sure, TikTok is terrible in many ways.  But the hypocrisy of its critics, especially members of Congress, is almost beyond belief.  —  The problem with TikTok is the same one we have with countless other Internet products: They are relentless violators of our privacy and security…

• @evacide Eva on x

  If you think the US needs a TikTok ban and not a comprehensive privacy law regulating data brokers, you don't care about privacy, you just hate that a Chinese company has built a dominant social media platform.

• @gopmajoritywhip Tom Emmer on x

  If you don't custody consumer funds, you are *not* a money transmitter. The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provides this necessary certainty for miners, validators, wallet software providers, and the entire blockchain ecosystem. https://twitter.com/...

• @rondeibert @rondeibert on x

  My statement about #TikTok's continuing reference to @citizenlab research 👇 https://twitter.com/...

• @tiktokcomms @tiktokcomms on x

  1/ Our CEO, @ShouChew, came prepared to answer questions from Congress, but unfortunately, the day was dominated by political grandstanding that failed to acknowledge real solutions already underway through Project Texas or address industry-wide issues of youth safety.

• @jappleby Jack Appleby on x

  Congress asked TikTok's CEO if he'd be willing to divest from Chinese ownership. His incredibly fair, savage answer? “American social companies don't have a good track record with data privacy and user security. I mean, look at Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.” https://twitter.c…

• @andrewdesiderio Andrew Desiderio on x

  This hearing is an abject disaster for TikTok

• @chrislhayes Chris Hayes on x

  The national security and privacy concerns are well-founded, sure, but it also just seems transparently and obviously the case that a lot of the animus against Tik Tok is that it's a massively powerful global tech platform from China and not “ours”

• @micsolana Mike Solana on x

  IMO this is done. I don't see any way TikTok isn't banned at this point. Bi-partisan certainty the CCP is spying on 150 million Americans. They're furious. I have never seen them lock-step in a hearing like this.

• @oneunderscore__ Ben Collins on x

  Every major social app we use was either seed funded by Russian oligarchs (Facebook/Insta, Twitter) or has current ownership stakes with the Saudis (this app here). We need a heuristic data privacy law. If it starts with TikTok, good, but there's something else going on here. htt…

• @sarafischer Sara Fischer on x

  TikTok statement in response to the hearing, per a spox: — “[T]he day was dominated by political grandstanding that failed to acknowledge the real solutions already underway through Project Texas or productively address industry-wide issues of youth safety.” Full statement below:…

• @enbrown Elizabeth Nolan Brown on x

  lol, now Rep. Guthrie is criticizing TikTok for not removing U.S. content as quickly as Chinese social media apps ban things... Lawmakers really can't decide if the issue is that we hate Chinese ways or should be more like them

• @esqueer_ Alejandra Caraballo on x

  Banning TikTok for privacy reasons is absurd when Meta can collect the same data and sell it to governments and foreign companies. Surveillance is apparently not an issue if it's done for profit. The fundamental problem is that the US has no meaningful data privacy laws. https://…

• @shanselman Scott Hanselman on x

  Watching this TikTok hearing. There's not a single congressperson who has the technical background to ask or understand the questions and answers. Not even close.

• @willoremus Will Oremus on x

  Full house, including tons of press and a contingent of TikTok creators, for today's House hearing on TikTok as CEO Shou Chew takes his seat just now. https://twitter.com/...

• @danprimack Dan Primack on x

  (TikTok also works with someone else affiliated with a national political party... Oracle chairman Larry Ellison).

• @kellymakena Makena Kelly on x

  At today's E&C hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Hearing starts soon. Chew arrived a few minutes ago! https://twitter.com/...

• @oliviasolon Olivia Solon on x

  The TikTok hearing is mainly members of congress shouting “YES OR NO? YES OR NO?” over CEO Shou Zi Chew after questions that can't meaningfully be answered with either

• @sarafischer Sara Fischer on x

  It's clear that @tiktok_us CEO Shou Zi Chew is trying to tread very carefully with his answers on Cap Hill. He dodges yes/no questions, says he will get back to the committee, etc. He is doing a good job of not perjuring himself, but it's not making for a convincing testimony. ht…

• @willoremus Will Oremus on x

  I wrote about the odd sight of American lawmakers grilling TikTok's CEO on why he can't moderate content more like his Chinese counterparts — and TikTok's CEO missing a chance to turn that question around on them. Live updates here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twi…

• @enbrown Elizabeth Nolan Brown on x

  goodness, this is insurfferable so far... TikTok's CEO keeps essentially saying he's not an agent of the Chinese Communist Party and the lawmakers are like... BUT AREN'T YOU ACTUALLY? like he's going to trip up Scooby Doo villain style if they keep saying it

• @willoremus Will Oremus on x

  TikTok's CEO says TikTok doesn't sell users' data, echoing a line familiar from Facebook privacy hearings. But he declined to commit never to do so—suggesting his gameplan for the hearing is to avoid making any new, binding commitments. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https:/…

• @ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x

  Chair @cathymcmorris asked about spying on journalists. She is referring to this. A story broken first by @ebakerwhite https://www.nytimes.com/...

• @drewharwell Drew Harwell on x

  Today, members of Congress who have never used TikTok will be calling for the ban of a free-expression platform used by 150 million across the U.S. We're covering it all here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @castrotech Daniel Castro on x

  Congressional hearings would be much better if Committee rules prohibited loaded questions. Not all questions can be answered with yes/no answers. https://twitter.com/...

• @sarthakgh Sar Haribhakti on x

  Ah yes the company owned by one of the largest Chinese tech companies founded, operated and scaled in jurisdiction owned by the CCP is lecturing the American Congress on First Amendment https://twitter.com/...

• @tiktokcomms @tiktokcomms on x

  2/ Also not mentioned today by members of the @HouseCommerce Committee: the livelihoods of the 5 million businesses on TikTok or the First Amendment implications of banning a platform loved by 150 million Americans.

• @drewharwell Drew Harwell on x

  “Does TikTok access the home wi-fi network” is the new “Senator, we run ads”

• @matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x

  The issue is not just data, it's a powerful foreign adversary controlling what 150M Americans watch. That's gotta stop. There's an odd reluctance to admit China is an adversary. It is. https://twitter.com/...

• @peterhamby Peter Hamby on x

  One of the biggest miscalculations TikTok made here was coming into this hearing bragging about how deeply enmeshed TikTok is in American society. Misreading the room by a mile. https://twitter.com/...

• @senblumenthal Richard Blumenthal on x

  If any proof were needed, today's hearing shows TikTok must be divested & radically reformed to stop a clear & present danger to both national security & children's safety. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @rmac18 @rmac18 on x

  Mark Zuckerberg's Georgetown speech, which was a pretty obvious effort to shift scrutiny off his company, was in Oct. 2019. He warned about Chinese competition and TikTok. Some 3.5 years later, this TIkTok hearing has to be his and Facebook's dream scenario.

• @jessicalessin Jessica Lessin on x

  There it is... the First Amendment defense. Was wondering why they hadn't used it yet https://twitter.com/...

• @binarybits Timothy B. Lee on x

  Arguments of the form “TikTok poses privacy risks but so do Facebook and Twitter” are...insane? Yes, TikTok poses some of the same risks as other platforms, but also the Chinese government is an authoritarian dictatorship that might invade our ally Taiwan in the coming years.

• @shiraovide Shira Ovide on x

  So...walling off U.S. TikTok from ByteDance in Project Texas seems to be a no-go with U.S. lawmakers and officials. Forcing ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok is a no-go with China. Is an attempted ban the only option left?

• @businessinsider @businessinsider on x

  The TikTok CEO's day in Congress was a ‘disaster’ that failed to prove a sale or ban isn't the only way forward, Wall Street says https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

• @kalhanr Kalhan on x

  A lot of the comments on @NBCNews' post are about how users trust TikTok and Shou Chew more than they trust Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. https://twitter.com/...

• @anthony Anthony DeRosa on x

  This is exactly what the USG is worried about. https://twitter.com/...

• @divestech Dan Ives on x

  TikTok CEO testimony so far we would characterize as a “mini disaster” for this key moment for TikTok. TikTok is now poster child of the US/China tensions and lawmakers have a lot of q's with not enough concrete answers. Positive for Meta, Snapchat, and Google in eyes of Street

• @evacide Eva on x

  If you think that the US needs to ban TikTok because the Chinese government uses it to run influence ops, wait until you find out how easy it is to run an influence op on good ol' American platforms without even owning them: https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

• @karlbode Karl Bode on x

  it can't be overstated how much of the TikTok hysteria is seeded around DC by lobbyists for companies that couldn't build innovative competitors, don't actually care about consumer privacy, feel they're inherently owed the money TikTok makes, or are just straight up racist

• @rmac18 @rmac18 on x

  The posturing was completely Machiavellian. Just years before that, Zuckerberg had been courting Xi and exploring ways to bring Facebook to China. And it didn't stop the media or political scrutiny of Facebook in the years that followed.

• @mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x

  My biggest concern about banning TikTok is that it would be a giveaway to Facebook, but the obvious solution is to ban Facebook and Instagram as well. https://twitter.com/...

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on x

  I think of Tiktok as competing with YouTube much more than Meta, and the security concern as coming from this as a form of media, not from private data (which I think is pretty overblown). Would you let a company controlled by the Chinese state buy Netflix?

• @washingtonpost @washingtonpost on x

  TikTok's CEO came to address national security concerns about the Chinese-owned app, but was met with an unusually unified coalition of lawmakers. The Biden administration may not have the legal authority to ban TikTok with out Congressional action. https://www.washingtonpost.com…

• @matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x

  Break up Google and get rid of surveillance advertising and also ban TikTok. This isn't hard. It's called having a society.

• @melissakchan Melissa Chan on x

  A social media app from Country X is popular among millions of citizens in Country Z. The leaders of Z watch with concern as citizens engage with the app. Z bans the app. I'm not talking about TikTok. I'm talking about what Beijing did to Facebook, Twitter more than a decade ago.

• @lexnfx Alexei Oreskovic on x

  TikTok not happy about how today's House hearing with CEO went down. Just in: statement from company about “grandstanding” https://twitter.com/...

• @rihardjarc Rihard Jarc on x

  For TikTok it would probably be better if the CEO wouldn't show up for the hearing. This is just a big fail. Mark is a beast compared to this guy.

• @markwarner Mark Warner on x

  Nothing we heard from the TikTok CEO assuaged concerns about the fact that China-based companies, including TikTok's parent company, are ultimately required to do the bidding of the CCP. @SenJohnThune and I have a bipartisan bill to investigate and mitigate these threats. https:/…

• @john_matze @john_matze on x

  I am no TikTok fan. But the US government banning TikTok over alleged Chinese ties are wrong. Its paranoia rooted in the fact that all tech companies must cooperate and provide data to US gov as arms of it's surveillance system. They assume China is the same as US.