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Comment by p_j_w | Hacker News Reader

Facebook is easily more harmful than TikTok and should get the same treatment.

The "treatment" TikTok is receiving is a requirement that its US presence should be sold to a US company. Facebook is already a US company, so I'm not sure what you mean. TikTok is not actually getting banned, unless it fails to achieve that sale, which is highly unlikely.

It looks like the CCP will not allow TikTok to be sold (https://twitter.com/michaelsobolik/status/178790253892830433...), which just further establishes that it's primarily an intelligence and propaganda operation controlled by a hostile government.

> I'm not sure what you mean.

Stop with the intentionally obtuse “well akshually” stuff. You know what I meant: lawmakers should put Facebook under the same scrutiny and find a legal loophole that allows them to stop the harm Facebook is causing.

> TikTok is not actually getting banned

Semantic bullshit. Similarly strong logical footing as “we’re democratic we just don’t allow non-communist political parties.”

Whether feed-driven social media is bad is orthogonal to whether China controlling TikTok is a national security threat. Personally I believe both are true, but the latter is much easier to deal with via legislation.

Semantic bullshit. Similarly strong logical footing as “we’re democratic we just don’t allow non-communist political parties.”

Would you be fine with Yandex running TikTok?

I feel like ticktok is more damaging for just how your brain is wired more than anything. People are walking into bathrooms and using the urinals one handed without putting the phone down the entire time. I can’t imagine spending every free second of your life engaging with short form media is going to help your ability to deeply think about things.

You don’t need TikTok to promote that kind of behavior. I know people who do that and have never touched TikTok in their lives. Meanwhile Facebook was used as a tool in a real life insurrection that got people killed.

That argument could similarly be made for the countless "trends" that have harmed TikTok users and those around them, or really any other social media platform.

I dont see how Facebook is unique in this regard.

Facebook is nothing compared to Instagram.

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