The sequence of events as far as I can recall:
- Trump promised to ban TikTok
- TikTok was slated to be “banned” in the twilight of Biden’s term
- Trump says he’d give it 90 days to make a decision
- Biden decides not to ban it, handing it off to Trump
- TikTok goes dark
- It returns, but if you search for something anti-Trump in the United States, you can’t find it
- Using a VPN will give you that content
- Various news outlets are now calling it Trump’s “Propaganda Arm”
What the fuck is going on? From a political or technological standpoint.
It’s Trump, the Republicans, Musk, and other billionaires using the power of the government to coerce Bytedance into actions that will be favorable to them. It’s kind of Trump’s MO; threaten people/corporations to enrich his family or otherwise benefit him in some way. They will likely force Bytedance to sell TikTok at a large discount to the government and Trump’s friends.
All corporate social media based in the US is going to turn out like this if it hasn’t already. Surprised Reddit and YouTube haven’t fallen yet.
It was always about control. They had no control over the information and now they do. All of a sudden it’s not a problem anymore.
Trump has all these companies by the balls.
Which happened because they unzipped their pants and placed their scrotums in Trump’s tiny hands.
Democrats walked right into his trap. I don’t think they’re controlled opposition but they sure act like it…
