Again, I think this is mostly about the U.S. government not being able to have access to user data for their own purposes, and allowing another company with no relation to the U.S. to have access to that data.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWRhNlPZCCs

In the clip above, a former FBI agent discusses the threats of how China is using user data. He points out how the problem lies in people giving them (TikTok) access to devices, which is what usually happens with most social media platforms when you sign up and agree to the terms of service. The other reason is that we are giving TikTok access to intelligence/data, which also is what social media platforms do in the U.S. as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgI_KAkSyCw

After watching the hearing from both the CEO of TikTok and Zuckerbergs hearing, there are some strong similarities between the two in how information is secured

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iE-_9WALtk

From what I have seen in the hearing with the CEO of TikTok, it looks like Congress is falsifying claims to justify the ban and their claims have no evidence to stand on. On top of that, it sounds like many of the members asking the questions don't know how social media works either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhyzx-rRBps

This video explains how companies collect data and it seems like not only do companies utilize data in non malicious ways for the most part, but there are a sizable amount of countermeasures to having your data be collected as well. One that stood out to me were the use of onion routers like DuckDuckGo

I think this also effects the way many people view the ban as it's not simply a website that people can access where you can purchase goods, services. It's also not a website or service that is dedicated to one thing or a problematic subject. It is a platform in which people upload their own content and are able to have that freedom of expression. With it being a social media platform, there is still that policy of users being able to report problematic content and have accounts be banned for violating terms of service rules. I think that just because the company is owned by another country doesn't necessarily deem it a hazard or be enough for there to be removal. At the end of the day, it is a social media platform, which we have a right to access just like any other platform with the freedom of speech and expression.

I think that when it comes to censorship, it is a little bit of a different argument with the platform itself enforcing the rules as they are the ones who created the platform, so they can at least have somewhat of a say when it comes to what they can/can't allow on a platform. The conversation enters a different ballpark when it's in the context of a government controlling and enforcing the censorship.

It seems that the government is going the route of reducing the visibility of content as a form of moderation, like what Tarleton Gillespie discussed in their article "Do Not Recommend? Reduction as a Form of Content Moderation". A line that stuck out to me was on page 1 which Gillespie said social media platforms "reduce the visibility or reach of problematic content. Many social media platforms have quietly begun to identify content that they deem not quite bad enough to remove. The offending content remains on the site, still available if a user can find it directly".

The government is following similar methods by banning what they deem as a problematic platform, TikTok, from government devices but are still allowing the public to have access to it for the time being.

The argument of censorship also plays into question with people asking the question of "does this violate the first amendment" as the government restricting access to certain content might fall into that category. However, I do wonder if the first amendment argument only applies to content within the country or if it is also in jurisdiction of content from other countries as well.

The main concern for misinformation is that according to Michael Cusumano in his article "Technology Strategy and Management: Section 230 and a Tragedy of the Commons" is that Americans are very susceptible to misinformation, regardless of education level. On page 18 he says "I once thought better education in science as well as history and ethics would help people think more clearly. Yet many well-educated Americans, including scores of politicians in our federal, state, and local governments, still claim the presidential election was rigged or oppose vaccines and masks. Education alone, apparently, is not the answer."

It seems that the problem is entirely different from education level and could have to do with ability to encode/decode messages

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW6YRNFlyvY

This video is a bit old but explains how U.S. based tech companies are subject to sharing their data with their government at well. In the video, Cory Johnson explains that many tech companies like Google and Microsoft have to turn over their data to the NSA. Similarly, China has to go through the same process.

I think it mostly has to do with the U.S. not being able to access that data, and instead China gets access to it. There isn't really a way for the U.S. to have access to moderate it, therefore, they are trying to ban it.

Here is TikTok's terms of service page: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/us/terms-of-service/en

After reading through the outlines, one portion that stood out to me was the section on Limitation of Liability. I'm not sure if I'm interpreting the statements wrong, or if the outline was translated from Chinese to English, but they seem a bit off putting. There is a statement regarding that TikTok is not liable for "loss of goodwill, opportunity" as well as the development of viruses. To me it looks like TikTok made sure they will take no responsibility whatsoever incase something bad happens.

From what I have researched so far, I haven't seen many differences between the kinds of data that TikTok collects, and what other platforms collect as well.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/heres-data-tiktok-collects-its-users

https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update/printable

These are what I found on the types of data TikTok and Facebook collects. The data listed seems pretty similar in terms of things like IP addresses, actions performed while app is open, and access to photos.

I can see how this argument can be both hypocritical but also justified. On one hand, it seems a bit hypocritical that the U.S. government is concerned with the Chinese government data mining on user info. However, the government doesn't seem to have a problem with data mining when the company that is doing it is domestic, or U.S. based. It's almost surprising that they won't lay down the ban hammer on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter when they have been found guilty of similar practices. Ultimately, I think it becomes an argument of "you're not allowed to do that, only we can do that".

Plus, what does that say about people in other countries who also use these platforms? Are they victims of the U.S. accessing their data too? If so, do those respective countries have just as much of a right to ban those social media platforms as well?

On the other hand, I can see how it could become a potential threat, as U.S. relations with China haven't exactly been the best as of late.