Hi Julian! I see an interesting tension in your argument here. You are concerned that "there are some signs that TikTok may already be warping the way the platform recommends content in order to curry favor with Trump." However, you acknowledge that it's hard to be sure since "I don’t know of any knock-down proof that these trends reflect a deliberate policy of massaging the algorithm to massage Trump’s ego."
Don't both of these points apply with at least as much force to Xi Jinping? TikTok needs to stay on Xi's good side, and there have been credible allegations over the years that TikTok has warped its algorithm toward positions favored by the Chinese government. But of course because the algorithm is opaque, we can't prove that this is happening.
But many of us think it's better to be safe than sorry—that we should make sure that the platforms that carry Americans' speech aren't under the thumb of autocratic leaders like Trump or Xi, even if we don't have airtight evidence that this power is being abused. You seem to think it's bad for TikTok to be under Trump's thumb but fine for it to be under Xi's thumb. What's the difference?
Well, first, I think domestic propaganda is more dangerous than the foreign variety. Obviously I think it would bad if videos critical of China are disfavored by the algorithm because of political pressure, but in the grand scheme that is less bad than sending people down a MAGA alternate reality rabbit hole.
Second, and more importantly, there's the question of remedy. It's not that it's just dandy for Xi to potentially pressure TikTok, but that it's not the kind of problem to which threatening to shutter a platform used by 170 million Americans is a rational or proportionate response. Before the ban passed, TikTok was looking for a variety of ways to provide assurances of a firewall between the US company and the Chinese government, greater transparency about the algorithm, etc. I think we should have taken them up on that and looked for less drastic ways to address those concerns.
My preferred solution from this point isn't to shut down TikTok; it's for Congress to repeal the statute, which removes Trump's extraordinary leverage over the platform, and get back to developing those assurance mechanisms. As it stands now, the administration appears happy to continue to let TikTok continue operating as a subsidiary of a Chinese company—so if you're unhappy about that, we're not addressing that problem—and ALSO create intense pressure to keep Trump happy.
Hi Julian! I see an interesting tension in your argument here. You are concerned that "there are some signs that TikTok may already be warping the way the platform recommends content in order to curry favor with Trump." However, you acknowledge that it's hard to be sure since "I don’t know of any knock-down proof that these trends reflect a deliberate policy of massaging the algorithm to massage Trump’s ego."
Don't both of these points apply with at least as much force to Xi Jinping? TikTok needs to stay on Xi's good side, and there have been credible allegations over the years that TikTok has warped its algorithm toward positions favored by the Chinese government. But of course because the algorithm is opaque, we can't prove that this is happening.
But many of us think it's better to be safe than sorry—that we should make sure that the platforms that carry Americans' speech aren't under the thumb of autocratic leaders like Trump or Xi, even if we don't have airtight evidence that this power is being abused. You seem to think it's bad for TikTok to be under Trump's thumb but fine for it to be under Xi's thumb. What's the difference?
Well, first, I think domestic propaganda is more dangerous than the foreign variety. Obviously I think it would bad if videos critical of China are disfavored by the algorithm because of political pressure, but in the grand scheme that is less bad than sending people down a MAGA alternate reality rabbit hole.
Second, and more importantly, there's the question of remedy. It's not that it's just dandy for Xi to potentially pressure TikTok, but that it's not the kind of problem to which threatening to shutter a platform used by 170 million Americans is a rational or proportionate response. Before the ban passed, TikTok was looking for a variety of ways to provide assurances of a firewall between the US company and the Chinese government, greater transparency about the algorithm, etc. I think we should have taken them up on that and looked for less drastic ways to address those concerns.
My preferred solution from this point isn't to shut down TikTok; it's for Congress to repeal the statute, which removes Trump's extraordinary leverage over the platform, and get back to developing those assurance mechanisms. As it stands now, the administration appears happy to continue to let TikTok continue operating as a subsidiary of a Chinese company—so if you're unhappy about that, we're not addressing that problem—and ALSO create intense pressure to keep Trump happy.