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Comment by tschwimmer | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand why the Verge is framing this as likely to be approved. It seems like the Gov't. told Bytedance to divest from US Operations, Bytedance refused to divest and instead set up this trusted tech partner thing, which means that no IP will be change hands and control will still be maintained.

This deal seems not to meet the requirements set out by the US Gov't. Have the goalposts been moved or will this deal be rejected?

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It will be approved, the goal was to put it in a place where the US government (read: trump goons) could control and monitor it, and Oracle is such a place. Larry Ellison is a huge trump donor so there’s zero chance it gets held up.

So this is basically telling China:

Hey we know you're spying using TikTok. Share the tool you use to spy so we can see, too.

China said: OK fine but you can only spy on your own citizens. Plus we also still get to.

Is that right?

yes but not just spy, they're eager to use the algorithm for propaganda purposes. Having it run by a trump loyalist is the outcome they wanted, they're going to turn it into Fox News for gen z.

This is such a weird take as someone who is on TikTok and really enjoys it. The app is a just mirror for your interests with an insanely good discovery system. Whatever you like and interact with it shows you more of and it tests the waters occasionally to try and find new things you might like.

My TikTok is cooking, home decor, gardening, fashion, makeup, pop punk music, longboarding, bullet journaling, and mental health.

Like you could be right that TikTok will change for the worse maliciously but such a change would kill what makes it worth using.

Not saying that they're trying to do the same thing, but couldn't you also imagine someone saying the same thing about FB before the revelations over the past few years?

It would be pretty easy for the algorithm to be nudged a little so that you start seeing more and more mental health tiktokkers who suggest that your mental wellness would be improved if you started reading about qanon, or long boarders who also like to talk about putting immigrants in concentration camps.

I'm sorry if I'm daft just are you jokin or not?

I think it's like boiling a lobster.

They won't transfer you immediately to a boiling pot of water. They will simply turn up the heat on the pot you're in, slowly but surely. Pretty soon you'll be sitting in a hot tub but you're already addicted to the fun of the app.

There were no goalposts.

Ellison is a large donor to the Trump campaign, so they're probably willing to move the goalposts for him.

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