No thanks China!

68 comments

The fundamental difference is who is in control, and for what purpose.
American spyware is controlled by corporations, and is all about selling you shit you don't need.
Chinese (and Russian) spyware is--apparently--controlled rather directly by their respective governments, and is being used to suppress democracy and increase polarization in the US and EU.
I don't like any spyware. But the latter category--spyware that's functionally state-sponsored--is clearly more immediately dangerous. The former is more like a slow-growing cancer.
- All of the US corporate social media platforms are part of the US military-industrial-intellegence complex now. Look at their boards of directors and executives. Look at the Twitter Files. Look Hamilton 68.
  Look at Reddit:
  Facebook Partners With Hawkish Atlantic Council, a NATO Lobby Group, to “Protect Democracy”
  Jessica Ashooh: The taming of Reddit and the National Security State Plant tabbed to do it
  A Reddit AMA Claiming To Be A Uyghur Quickly Exposes A CIA Asset Slandering China
  r/neoliberal was created by a neoliberal think tank » BPR Interviews: The Neoliberal Project
  .
  TikTok as well. The US already forced them to move their service to the US on an American-owned hosting provider, and they have already put people with a history of aligning with “American interests” into executive positions, like CEO Shou Zi Chew and vice president Michael Beckerman.
  They have their eye on the fediverse now: Atlantic Council » Collective Security in a Federated World
  
  Twitter files are mostly a tool for Elon Musks policy. Wiki entry shows enough of why they are problematic. The Hamilton 68 controversy isn't a big thing like you are pretending. If anything their database was misunderstood. https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-hamilton-68-russian-online-influence-tracker-2023-2?op=1
  
  There's already loads of upvote/downvote bots in the fediverse here - would not be shocked if a large portion of them are from governments
- So it's only okay for them to suppress democracy and increase polarization if they use American platforms? Because that's already happening.
- The former is more like a slow-growing cancer.
  One that we can actually fight, I might add, and we should.
  
  Absolutely.
  I mean, that's part of the reason that I'm here, rather than The Place That Shall Not Be Named. That, and because my account was permanently banned because I suggested torching the house of a someone flying a nazi flag.
- I'm not defending China here, but since Snowden we now know that American corporate spyware does serve the government. And they are suppressing democracy - this isn't a democracy yet, and peaceful protests for democracy are met with violent police resistance - Occupy, BLM, etc.
  I sincerely hope that Lemmy can grow large enough to serve as a staging ground for democratic protests in America, just because it's not corporate controlled.
- I would love to know how all the cat and cooking videos in my tiktok feed are being used to suppress democracy 🙄

My main reason is I'm an American, China (probably) can't do shit to me. But here I'm subject to so much shit America can do legally and illegally, with zero repercussions.
If China fucked me in particular over, odds are it would at least spark debate here. If America spied on my messages and stopped me from protesting something, that's just a Tuesday afternoon here.
The only reason why Congress wants to ban it, is due to pressure from news agencies and the government, because TikTok can't be controlled by the CIA. You can't manufacture consent of the people if the content comes from someone else you don't control.
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/13/1237501725/house-vote-tiktok-ban
They'll ban tiktok but won't punish overly aggressive police.
They'll ban tiktok but won't make food or rent affordable.
They'll ban tiktok but won't denounce Israel's bullshit.
They'll ban tiktok but won't cancel student loans.
They'll ban tiktok but won't take Covid seriously.
- Deleted/removed because I meant to reply to someone else.

Hah! yeah
How does Microsoft always fly under the radar?
- 2013: Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages
  Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users' communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company's own encryption, according to top-secret documents obtained by the Guardian.
  The files provided by Edward Snowden illustrate the scale of co-operation between Silicon Valley and the intelligence agencies over the last three years. They also shed new light on the workings of the top-secret Prism program, which was disclosed by the Guardian and the Washington Post last month.
  
  Well yeah, by default Microsoft holds your encryption keys. Why wouldn't they be able to unencrypt it? Implement Customer Key if you want to hold your own encryption keys.
- For fun context, Google "Microsoft Vortex Service"

Honestly way less afraid of China snooping on my data than US corporations. Only one of those groups regularly colludes with the FBI/CIA/other three letter agencies.
- only one can send armed goons to my house too

I'm not big of a fan of Chinese surveillance but to most peoples point that have already posted here, if this was about privacy then the government should be passing laws to protect consumer privacy as a whole and not just targeting Chinese companies. Really shows that the government doesn't give a shit about your privacy just who's able to get it.

The concern about TikTok acquiring your private information for marketing purposes is a red herring. The concern of our government here is propaganda and narrative control -- power.

A whole lot of censoring on these posts on lemmy.ml

If I had a nickel for every time I saw one of these posts, I'd have two nickels, Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice on the same day
- And posted by the same account that was created yesterday!

Fuck the USA and fuck China. Spyware sucks no matter where it's from.
- Common "both-sides" fence sitter L

Tankies failing to comprehend the fundamental difference between an actor who tries to make money off you and an actor trying to manufacture dissent and influence the public narrative
- Yeah because Facebook totally doesn't do that.
  
  Point taken, though it’s still an American company they could crack down upon if they prove too dangerous too.
  To be clear: I don’t want to get spied upon by anyone and I don’t use most of the American services for that reason. But obviously domestic bad actors are better than bad actors controlled by a foreign and hostile government
- Libs failing to actually read Manufacturing Consent.
- trying to manufacture dissent and influence the public narrative
  That shit is all over American social media too buddy. If that's the issue it should all be banned.
  
  I’m game
  The us government probably not tho

68 comments