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posted by martyb on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:19PM   Printer-friendly
from the timing dept.

[20200803_012617 UTC UTC Update 2:]

tl;dr version: Trump threatened to ban TikTok. Then Microsoft said it was in talks to buy TikTok. Then Microsoft said the talks were in doubt after Trump's threats. Now, Microsoft is "continuing discussions."

Microsoft to continue discussions on TikTok purchase after talking to Donald Trump:

After reports US President Donald Trump is considering an order to force Beijing-based tech company ByteDance to divest ownership of popular social-video app TikTok, Microsoft has announced it will be "continuing discussion" on a potential purchase of TikTok after a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the President.

"Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President's concerns," said Microsoft, in a statement. "It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.

[20200802_144217 UTC Update 1; added:]

Microsoft pauses talks on TikTok US deal - reports:

A possible sale of Chinese-owned TikTok's US operations to Microsoft is reportedly on hold after Donald Trump vowed to ban the video-sharing app.

A sale was thought close to agreement, but was put in doubt after the US president's warning on Friday.

The Wall Street Journal said Microsoft had now paused talks despite TikTok owner ByteDance making last ditch efforts to win White House support.

It comes amid criticism of Mr Trump's threat as an attack on free speech.

[...] Late on Friday, Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: "As far as TikTok is concerned we're banning them from the United States."

[Original story follows.--martyb]

TikTok: Trump says he will ban Chinese video app in the US

President Donald Trump has announced he is banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok in the US.

He told reporters he could sign an executive order as early as Saturday.

US security officials have expressed concern that the app, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, could be used to collect the personal data of Americans.

[...] Microsoft has reportedly been in talks to buy the app from ByteDance, but Mr Trump appeared to cast doubt that such a deal would be allowed to go through. If the deal went ahead reports say it would involve ByteDance shedding TikTok's US operations.

A TikTok-Microsoft Deal Might Solve Everything (archive)

On Friday, Bloomberg News reported Trump plans to order ByteDance Ltd. to divest its ownership of TikTok. Then later in the afternoon, several media outlets reported Microsoft Corp. is in talks to purchase TikTok's U.S. operations.

[...] There seem to be two active bidders for the app. One is Microsoft. As for the other, Reuters reported earlier this week that some of Bytedance's U.S investors have proposed a bid for a majority stake of TikTok, valuing the company's non-China operations at $50 billion. The offer would be about 50 times TikTok's forecast sales of $1 billion this year, Reuters reported.

Previously: Bytedance: The World's Most Valuable Startup
Lawmakers Ask US Intelligence to Assess If TikTok is a Security Threat
TikTok and 53 Other iOS Apps Still Snoop Your Sensitive Clipboard Data
India Bans TikTok, WeChat, and Other Chinese-Owned Apps


Original Submission

Related Stories

Bytedance: The World's Most Valuable Startup 6 comments

TikTok owner Bytedance is now the world's most valuable startup

A new $3 billion round of investment led by SoftBank has crowned China's Bytedance the world's most valuable startup, Bloomberg reports. Bytedance, the owner of popular karaoke video app TikTok and huge Chinese news aggregator Toutiao, is now valued at $75 billion, which takes it past Uber's most recent figure of $72 billion.

Uber is reported to be considering an IPO for next year that would value it at $120 billion, but for now Bytedance is on top, which is a huge achievement for a company that until recently had very little presence outside China. TikTok, which was acquired as Musical.ly and merged into Bytedance's own Douyin service as TikTok, is a major sensation among teens in the West, and has apparently already achieved the social media rite of passage of having Facebook attempt to clone it.

ByteDance. Tik Tok?


Original Submission

Lawmakers Ask US Intelligence to Assess If TikTok is a Security Threat 13 comments

Submitted via IRC for soylent_brown

Lawmakers ask US intelligence to assess if TikTok is a security threat – TechCrunch

Two lawmakers have asked the government’s most senior U.S. intelligence official to assess if video-sharing app TikTok could pose “national security risks” to the United States.

In a letter by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), the lawmakers asked the acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire if the app maker could be compelled to turn Americans’ data over to the Chinese authorities.

TikTok has some 110 million downloads to date and has spiked in popularity for its ability to record short, snappy videos that are sharable across social media networks. But the lawmakers say because TikTok is owned by a Beijing-based company, it could be compelled by the Chinese government to turn over user data — such as location data, cookies, metadata and more — even if it’s stored on servers it owns in the United States.

Both Schumer and Cotton warn that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is “still required to adhere” to Chinese law.

“Security experts have voiced concerns that China’s vague patchwork of intelligence, national security, and cybersecurity laws compel Chinese companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” the letter, dated Wednesday, said. “Without an independent judiciary to review requests made by the Chinese government for data or other actions, there is no legal mechanism for Chinese companies to appeal if they disagree with a request.”

That same legal principle works both ways. U.S. companies have been shut out, or had their access limited, in some nation states — including China — over fears that they could be compelled to spy on behalf of the U.S. government.

See also: TikTok explains its ban on political advertising


Original Submission

TikTok and 53 Other iOS Apps Still Snoop Your Sensitive Clipboard Data 14 comments

Apple's iOS 14 beta added a feature that reveals each time an application copies text from the clipboard. A recent article in Ars Technica brought renewed focus to an issue we previously reported in February. This story includes a list of apps from the researcher's blog post.

TikTok and 53 other iOS apps still snoop your sensitive clipboard data:

In March, researchers uncovered a troubling privacy grab by more than four dozen iOS apps including TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media and video-sharing phenomenon that has taken the Internet by storm. Despite TikTok vowing to curb the practice, it continues to access some of Apple users' most sensitive data, which can include passwords, cryptocurrency wallet addresses, account-reset links, and personal messages. Another 53 apps identified in March haven't stopped either.

The privacy invasion is the result of the apps repeatedly reading any text that happens to reside in clipboards, which computers and other devices use to store data that has been cut or copied from things like password managers and email programs. With no clear reason for doing so, researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk found, the apps deliberately called an iOS programming interface that retrieves text from users' clipboards.

[...] In many cases, the covert reading isn't limited to data stored on the local device. In the event the iPhone or iPad uses the same Apple ID as other Apple devices and are within roughly 10 feet of each other, all of them share a universal clipboard, meaning contents can be copied from the app of one device and pasted into an app running on a separate device.

India Bans TikTok, WeChat, and Other Chinese-Owned Apps 18 comments

India bans TikTok, WeChat and dozens more Chinese apps

India's government has banned TikTok and dozens more Chinese-made apps it says are a danger to the country. In a statement, it said the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order". In total, 59 different apps were banned - including popular messaging app WeChat.

It follows weeks of escalating tensions along the disputed border between the two countries. Both India and China deployed more troops to the Ladakh region in June, and minor clashes have left at least 20 Indian troops dead. Satellite images also appear to show that China has built new structures overlooking the Himalayan border region.

India's Ministry of Information Technology said it was banning the 59 Chinese apps after receiving "many complaints from various sources" about apps that were "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner".

TikTok and WeChat.

Also at CNBC and The Hill.

Previously: Bytedance: The World's Most Valuable Startup
Lawmakers Ask US Intelligence to Assess If TikTok is a Security Threat

Related: Indian Government Orders ISPs to Block 857 Porn Websites
China is Ramping up its Media Abroad – and Not Just in Chinese
Indian Court Orders YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to Block "Defamatory" Video Worldwide


Original Submission

Australia Takes First Steps Towards Banning TikTok 10 comments

Australia will ban tiktok on government devices despite claims by chinese officials that the application is safe to use.

Is any application on a mobile device really safe to use? What personal data do they collect? Where do they send it? Why don't mobile devices come with the firewall enabled?

Australia's top spy agency has added to growing concerns about a popular social media app, and its collection of users' personal data. State governments across the nation are issuing TikTok bans on official work devices as concerns about data safety increase worldwide.

The app's Australian general manager Lee Hunter recently told The Project that users should feel "safe" on TikTok, and claimed China had no way of accessing data – despite the site's parent company operating out of China.

However, national intelligence organisation Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) recently released advice about the app, warning the general public not to use it on a device that can access other information.

"Do not use it on a phone that can access any official information, for example, any workplace communication (email clients, MS Teams)," the ASD warned in advice shared by the Tasmanian government.

Previously:
    The 'Insanely Broad' RESTRICT Act Could Ban VPNs in the USA
    Banning TikTok
    TikTok Would be Banned From US "for Good" Under Bipartisan Bill
    President Trump Threatens TikTok Ban, Microsoft Considers Buying TikTok's U.S. Operations[Updated 2]


Original Submission

US Will Ban WeChat and TikTok Downloads on Sunday 52 comments

US will ban WeChat and TikTok downloads on Sunday

The Commerce Department plans to restrict access to TikTok and WeChat on Sunday as the Trump administration's executive orders against the two apps are set to take effect.

The Department said Friday that as of Sunday, any moves to distribute or maintain WeChat or TikTok on an app store will be prohibited. Apple and Google didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

While users who have already downloaded the apps may be able to continue using the software, the restrictions mean updated versions of the apps cannot be downloaded.

The restrictions targeting WeChat are more extensive. Beginning Sunday, it will be illegal to host or transfer internet traffic associated with WeChat, the Department said in a release. The same will be true for TikTok as of Nov. 12, it said. (The Trump administration is currently weighing a proposal involving ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent, and Oracle, designed to resolve the administration's national security concerns related to TikTok; the deadline for a deal is Nov. 12.)

TikTok Plans to Sue the Trump Administration Over Ban 51 comments

TikTok plans to sue Trump administration over US ban

TikTok plans to sue the Trump administration over its executive order banning transactions between U.S. companies and the popular video-sharing app as well as its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

"Even though we strongly disagree with the Administration's concerns, for nearly a year we have sought to engage in good faith to provide a constructive solution," a TikTok spokesperson told The Hill. "What we encountered instead was a lack of due process as the Administration paid no attention to facts and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses," the spokesperson continued. "To ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the Executive Order through the judicial system," the spokesperson added.

Also at NYT and Business Insider.

Previously: Bytedance: The World's Most Valuable Startup
Lawmakers Ask US Intelligence to Assess If TikTok is a Security Threat
TikTok and 53 Other iOS Apps Still Snoop Your Sensitive Clipboard Data
India Bans TikTok, WeChat, and Other Chinese-Owned Apps
President Trump Threatens TikTok Ban, Microsoft Considers Buying TikTok's U.S. Operations[Updated 2]
TikTok: Trump Will Prohibit Transactions with Bytedance Beginning September 20


Original Submission

TikTok: Trump Will Prohibit Transactions with Bytedance Beginning September 20 127 comments

From The Verge:

President Trump has signed a new executive order which will block all transactions with Bytedance, TikTok's parent corporation, in an effort to "address the national emergency with respect to the information and communication technology supply chain."

The move comes after months of escalating tensions, which saw Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others at the White House warn that TikTok presented a national security threat because of its Chinese ownership. Microsoft is currently in talks to acquire portions of the app, aimed to be complete by September 15th.

A parallel order banned transactions with WeChat, a popular texting app in China that maintains a small user base in the US.

[...] The executive branch has the power to levy sanctions against individuals and corporations by placing them on the "entity list," as the US did against Huawei and ZTE last year. But such sanctions are typically put in place by the Commerce Department rather than the White House, and subject to a specific rule-making procedure that seems to have been short-circuited by the surprise executive order.

See also: Tencent stock plummets after Trump announces plan to ban WeChat in the US

Previously:
(2020-08-01) President Trump Threatens TikTok Ban, Microsoft Considers Buying TikTok's U.S. Operations[Updated 2]
(2020-07-07) Reddit and LinkedIn Stop Copying iPhone Clipboard Contents
(2020-06-30) India Bans TikTok, WeChat, and Other Chinese-Owned Apps
(2020-06-28) TikTok and 53 Other iOS Apps Still Snoop Your Sensitive Clipboard Data
(2019-12-27) Investigation Claims United Arab Emirates Uses The ToTok App To Spy
(2019-10-26) Lawmakers Ask US Intelligence to Assess If TikTok is a Security Threat


Original Submission

Trump Says Microsoft is in Contention to Buy TikTok 25 comments

President Donald Trump said Monday night that Microsoft was in contention to buy TikTok, having previously said that he is eager to forge a deal that would "save" the popular video app from a ban:

Such a deal, if realized, would put the video app used by millions of Americans under the control of the country's second-most-valuable tech company, which has been aggressively pushing into new lines of business including artificial intelligence and gaming. Representatives for Microsoft declined to comment on Monday.

When asked aboard Air Force One whether Microsoft was involved in discussions for acquiring TikTok, Trump said: "I would say yes. A lot of interest in TikTok."

Microsoft previously discussed buying TikTok in 2020, when Trump tried to force a sale of the app during his first term. That proposal crumbled when Trump's push to force the app's sale or ban was rejected by the courts.

[...] Analysts have estimated TikTok could be worth $50 billion, or far more, depending on the underlying technology for sale.

Previously: President Trump Threatens TikTok Ban, Microsoft Considers Buying TikTok's U.S. Operations[Updated 2]


Original Submission

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(1)
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:24PM (49 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:24PM (#1030266)

    This is why Biden should refuse to debate Trump. Trump controls the media with executive orders, leading to batshit levels of bias against Biden.

    • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:41PM (44 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:41PM (#1030276)

      It fair-and-balances the extreme left-wing radical mainstream antifa agenda, don't you agree?

      • (Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:51PM (43 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:51PM (#1030277)

        Antifa is a myth spread in DC. Maybe you mean the white nationalists who are setting for to courthouses?

        • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:55PM (35 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:55PM (#1030280)

          You mean the patriotic Americans protecting our Christian heritage?

          • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:02PM (8 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:02PM (#1030283)

            How is setting a courthouse on fire protecting our heritage? Trump is destroying the country, Biden knows how to fix it but can't get anything but negative coverage from the media.

            • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:17PM (4 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:17PM (#1030287)

              Biden learned everything he knows from Obama. Biden's "fix" for America would be to send drones to wipe out all the Christian churches on Sunday morning while guaranteeing jobs for illegal immigrants.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:35PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:35PM (#1030299)

                And from Neil Kinnock apparently.

              • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:36PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:36PM (#1030301)

                When did you ever see the inside of a church?

              • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:38PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:38PM (#1030304)

                Biden is for law and order. His long and illustrious political career has shown he is in favor of strict drug laws, civil forfeiture, and segregation of the races to prevent "racial jungles". Vote for Biden if you want to feel safe and secure.

                • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @11:49PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @11:49PM (#1030486)

                  Can you guarantee he'll send all the Blacks to Liberia? If so, he's electable since that's the best place to ensure their safety. #BLM

            • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:05PM (2 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:05PM (#1030324)

              How is setting a courthouse on fire protecting our heritage? Trump is destroying the country, Biden knows how to fix it but can't get anything but negative coverage from the media.

              WRONG WRONG WRONG.

              Do not be under the illusion that these protests and riots are anything but an attempt to dismantle all of Western Civilization and upend centuries of tradition and freedom of religion.

              https://www.christianpost.com/news/portland-rioters-burn-bibles-outside-federal-building.html

              • (Score: 4, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:52PM (1 child)

                by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:52PM (#1030423)

                Good lord, christianpost.com owned by Liberty (sic) University.

                What point are you trying to make? That the Falwells make a lot of money pouring lies into the brains of gullible young fools?

                Fortunately several of the commenters on that awful site don't seem to be buying into their bullshit.

                • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday August 03 2020, @02:05AM

                  by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday August 03 2020, @02:05AM (#1030533)

                  Unfortunately, it's not just Falwell's fans who buy this BS. Americans have been Christian extremists for a long time. Basically what's going on in this country is that a significant minority of the population is abandoning this religious garbage, but another group at least as large is turning even more extremist as a reaction to this. It isn't going to end well. We should probably look at Iran for an example of how things will go here, combined perhaps with the former Soviet Union.

          • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:18PM (17 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:18PM (#1030289)

            Somehow, American Christian heritage coexisted with— or even enabled— the American institution of slavery.

            • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:10PM (4 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:10PM (#1030325)

              Well slow down there cowboy. There is zero evidence of racism in the Bible. It's not God's fault that the lesser races chose the path of sin and were tainted with a dark complexion.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:55PM (2 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:55PM (#1030344)

                According to the Bible, "all the kings of the earth are controlled by the great whore."

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:58PM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:58PM (#1030366)

                  That's why I follow King Neptune, King of the Sea.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:58PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:58PM (#1030427)

                That's Mormonism, you idiot! And the Church has apologized [sorrywatch.com].

            • (Score: 0, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:47PM (11 children)

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:47PM (#1030360) Journal

              Somehow, American Christian heritage coexisted with— or even enabled— the American institution of slavery.

              And, American Christian heritage coexisted with and even enabled the Emancipation of slaves, not to mention women's suffrage, gay rights, and all the civil rights we enjoy today. Now, kindly pull your head out.

              --
              “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
              • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:40PM (3 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:40PM (#1030380)

                So it's completely amoral? I don't get your point.

                • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:49PM (2 children)

                  by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:49PM (#1030401) Journal

                  It surprises you to learn that an amoral person might use moral teachings to justify his ends? FFS, Adolph Hitler could quote the Bible.

                  --
                  “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:23PM (1 child)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:23PM (#1030410)

                    Different AC, but you might want to look up "amoral" in a dictionary and compare it to "immoral." I think the GP was making a different point then you thought they did.

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:00PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:00PM (#1030429)

                      We call this, "Runaway reading comprehension."

              • (Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:45PM (6 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:45PM (#1030382)

                They were different Christians who were pro-slavery (majority) and abolitionists (tiny minority).

                The mainstream Christians, in the US, at the time, were far-right, as today. They were vehemently opposed to converting slaves to Christianity since their justification for slavery, at the time, was that the slaves were not Christians (yes, they quoted bible verse to support this assertion). Progressive Quakers, Shakers, etc. went against the mainstream far-right pro slavery church, and converted enslaved humans to Christianity. This was the origin of non-whiteness as a reason for being enslaved. The right-wing pro-slavery Christians invented race to continue to justify slavery.

                Christianity (as it has been practiced in the Americas, Europe, and Australia) has been used to justify every sort of evil deed by its far-right practitioners. Some years ago, a far-right Christian church took to the streets protesting about the arrest of one of their members for beating the shit out of his children-- turns out the far-right Christians believe the bible says that parents should beat the fuck out of their children, and picketed with signs quoting bible verse they said supported this claim.

                I tried to find a reference, but the google search just brought up page after page of Christian sexual abuse of children: https://www.google.com/search?q=christians++protest+church+member+being+arrested+for+child+abuse [google.com]

                Chris Hedges (a progressive Christian, who went to seminary) refers to these far-right Christians as, "Christian-fascists". The far-right Christians were for enslaving humans, they were for genocide of the indigenous, and they have not changed their world view today-- these are Trump's base.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:38PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:38PM (#1030398)

                  Great summation, sadly that will require runaway to do some introspection thus he will completely ignore reality and continue speeing his preferred version of 'reality'.

                • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:47PM (3 children)

                  by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:47PM (#1030400) Journal

                  You are looking for Proverbs 13:24
                  He that spareth his rod hateth his son: But he who loves him chasteneth him betimes.

                  Note that it says nothing about beating.

                  --
                  “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
                  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:35PM (2 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:35PM (#1030469)

                    He that spareth his rod hath no son.

                    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:56PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:56PM (#1030476)

                      He that beats his rod may not get one either.

                    • (Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Monday August 03 2020, @12:42PM

                      by Muad'Dave (1413) on Monday August 03 2020, @12:42PM (#1030685)

                      He that spanketh his rod hath no son. FTFY

                • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:57PM

                  by Thexalon (636) on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:57PM (#1030478)

                  How mainstream abolitionism was depended a lot on where you were and when you're talking about, both within Christianity and in secular law. For example, the Quakers weren't universally anti-slavery until the late 1700's, mostly due to the influence of a fellow by the name of John Woolman who wrote a piece condemning slavery in the 1750's and convinced congregations one at a time to end it. Meanwhile, by the 1840's, lots of Christian sects were quite anti-slavery, including Methodists and Presbyterians, and it was common among Protestant revivalists of the Second Great Awakening. And of course John Brown was devoutly Christian.

                  But yeah, it's all driven by a moral idea that slavery is wrong. Which it is.

                  --
                  "Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
          • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:51PM (7 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:51PM (#1030314)

            By "protect our Christian heritage" you mean to impose your Christian religious beliefs on everyone, even though violence if necessary. A lot of Christians say they vote for Republicans because of the abortion issue, citing the hundreds of thousands of abortions each year in the US. The number of abortions is in the hundreds of thousands per year and the volume of abortions is cited as why the issue takes precedence over others.

            But these same Christians are obsessed with repealing Obamacare, taking away healthcare coverage from millions of people who may die from treatable conditions because they can't afford the care. These same Christians are willing to parrot Trump's lies about COVID-19, a disease that has already killed 150,000+ Americans and will kill far more before slowing. Most of these deaths are preventable by implementing restrictions that reduce the spread of the virus, but these Christians line up to support Trump's repeated attempts to undermine those restrictions. So those hundreds of thousands of abortions are a travesty to those Christians but not the huge number of Americans who will needlessly die from diseases that could have been treated or prevented. You'd think these "patriotic Americans protecting [their] Christian heritage" would do a better job even of something simple like following the Ten Commandments, but they are happy to ignore those when it suits their purpose.

            • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:03PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:03PM (#1030323)

              Inept medical care (misuse of ventilators, sending infected into nursing homes, telling people to stay home rather than visit their GP, failure to correct vitamin deficiencies, etc) killed probably 100k, 25k or so died as in a bad flu season, then the other 25k died with covid from falling into the Mississippi and getting eaten by a catfish, police kneeling on their necks, etc.

              The next stage is the immunity to all the usual circulating pathogens starts disappearing due to excess sanitation/distancing. Some of these also provide cross immunity to covid, so we should also see that illness get more severe in the young. After that they will give out the rushed vaccine to minorities after only testing it on healthy people, the vast majority of whom are young. This should result in the deaths of another couple hundred thousand elderly, obese, etc individuals.

              https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/coronavirus-vaccine.html [nytimes.com]

            • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:50PM (5 children)

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:50PM (#1030362) Journal

              The eleventh commandment, "Thou shalt wear a mask if thy neighbor is offended."

              The twelfth commandment, "Thou should wear a mask while robbing stagecoaches, trains, or banks."

              *rolleyes*

              --
              “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
              • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Thexalon on Monday August 03 2020, @12:29AM (4 children)

                by Thexalon (636) on Monday August 03 2020, @12:29AM (#1030498)

                1. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Matthew 22:39)
                2. If thou not wearest a mask, thou hast increased the odds that thy neighbor will get sick with Covid-19. (nearly every doctor everywhere)
                3. Getting someone sick with a disease with Covid-19 carries a substantial risk that they will be dead, or at the very least dealing with lifelong disability. (nearly every doctor everywhere)
                4. Ergo, thou shalt wear a mask around thy neighbors.

                The idea that following a doctor's recommendations was anti-Christian comes from those who are, in my estimation at least, breaking the First Commandment, choosing to follow false prophets that worship the idol of pieces of paper with the word "Dollar" on them.

                --
                "Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @01:14AM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @01:14AM (#1030519)

                  2. If thou not wearest a mask, thou hast increased the odds that thy neighbor will get sick with Covid-19. (nearly every doctor everywhere)
                  3. Getting someone sick with a disease with Covid-19 carries a substantial risk that they will be dead, or at the very least dealing with lifelong disability. (nearly every doctor everywhere)

                  Is this the same doctors who said not to wear masks in Feb/Mar and that we need to put everyone on ventilators right away without evidence for that treatment?

                  You need to hold bad decision makers responsible or they will keep hurting you and your family.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @05:10PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @05:10PM (#1030795)

                    That was about a mask shortage you dummy, they promoted wearing cloth masks. Also given Trump's Demon sperm doctor you can find all manner of educated idiots for a citation of stupidity. I never heard anyone say to put people on ventilators right away, that was for when their oxygen levels dropped dangerously low.

                    Sounds like you are listening to stupid talk shows who make a living off keeping you outraged, thus they spin minor things into grand conspiracies or scandals.

                • (Score: 2, Interesting) by tyler on Monday August 03 2020, @02:05PM (1 child)

                  by tyler (6335) on Monday August 03 2020, @02:05PM (#1030729) Homepage

                  The ten commandments were in the old testament. There is nothing in the 10 commandments about loving your neighbor. The only thing close is the last one that tells you not to envy your neighbor's stuff. There is actually more than one version of the ten commandments. In the book you cite, Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree, which was out of season, because he was hangry. That book also has dialogue between Jesus and the devil. The book was allegedly written by a person who was not there to witness the dialogue. In Luke, Jesus told people to hate their family (Luke 14:26). I guess you are supposed to love your neighbor more than your family, but you can't envy them. According to the more commonly known set of 10 commandments, you are supposed to honor your parents. It must be hard to honor someone you are supposed to hate. I find the bible confusing.

                  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday August 03 2020, @05:16PM

                    by Thexalon (636) on Monday August 03 2020, @05:16PM (#1030797)

                    The 10 Commandments are specifically a section that Christians decided were the most important out of the 600+ commandments in the Torah. As for the "love thy neighbor" rhetoric, while there are certainly hints about that since you're not supposed to murder or rob or cuckold your neighbor, Jesus could also have picked that up from the Talmud, most famously Rabbi Hillel's summary of the Torah as "Love your neighbor, the rest is commentary."

                    As for that passage in Luke, I do have to wonder about the last part of that verse, where he says that Christians are supposed to hate their own life. I mean, that seems like the ultimate expression of conservative Christian thought which so often boils down to "My life sucks, so yours should too!"

                    --
                    "Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:37PM (5 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:37PM (#1030303)

          I see DNCDonkey's propaganda has taken seed.

          • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:45PM (4 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:45PM (#1030311)

            Antifa is a myth spread only in Washington DC: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hzfx9cPCMhk [youtube.com]

            This guy has access to classified materials and shit vs an anonymous individual on the internet. Who do you think has better information?

            • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:46PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:46PM (#1030312)

              Ah but you didn't deny the rest! Proof!!!

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:43PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:43PM (#1030340)

              This guy has access to classified materials and shit

              And he makes youtube movies based on that "classified information"? There truly is a shortage of brains.

              Supposing the democrat lies were true, does Trump sending police to protect the courthouse against them lead to a logical conclusion that he is opposed to RWNJs? That wouldn't be strategic.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:03PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:03PM (#1030348)

                You think Jerry Nadler uploaded the video to YouTube?

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @01:51AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @01:51AM (#1030528)

              Antifa is a myth spread only in Washington DC [...]

              Anti-female? Where do I sign up?

        • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:33PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:33PM (#1030378)

          ok, Nadler. you lying Jew fuck.

    • (Score: 2, Troll) by shortscreen on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:11PM (1 child)

      by shortscreen (2252) on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:11PM (#1030437) Journal

      Is that a real DNC talking point? Your post currently has 1 troll and 4 insightful mods. Zero funny. Should be +255 funny. Maybe it accidentally went to 256 and wrapped around?

      Hoooooooooly shit.

      • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:17PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:17PM (#1030462)

        Yeah, it's sad for democracy with this getting upvotes.
        If Biden's handlers won't let him come out into public, perhaps the League of Women Voters could start running debates again. They could get in the Libertarian, Green, Constitution party candidates to debate with Trump.
        Trump would probably enjoy boxing it out with sparring partners.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday August 03 2020, @06:28PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday August 03 2020, @06:28PM (#1030842) Journal

      Biden should refuse to debate Trump because Trump is the master debater.

      --
      Satin worshipers are obsessed with high thread counts because they have so many daemons.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @01:04AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @01:04AM (#1031048)

      And outside of Trump, no one else controls the media? They all are completely impartial and not being manipulated behind the scenes by their ultra rich and influential sponsors?

      If there's dirt on Biden, those said media will be completely transparent about it?

      Trump is a feral idiot, no denying that, but when you make statements like these it doesn't really help your cause

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by acid andy on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:28PM (3 children)

    by acid andy (1683) on Sunday August 02 2020, @02:28PM (#1030267) Homepage Journal

    security officials have expressed concern that the app, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, could be used to collect the personal data of Americans

    Awwww, bless! How kind and sweet and thoughtful of them to be so caring about their fellow citizens!

    --
    Welcome to Edgeways. Words should apply in advance as spaces are highly limite—
    • (Score: 0, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:38PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:38PM (#1030305)

      In Soviet USA Microsoft collects the personal data of Americans.

    • (Score: 2) by choose another one on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:47PM

      by choose another one (515) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:47PM (#1030313)

      Yes indeed you'd have thought the primary concern of said security officials would be having the personal data of Americans collected by good, upstanding (only until told to bend over by the security officials, obviously), all American firms, and definitely not by icky nasty virusy Chinese ones.

      So, why block an American firm buying it? *confused*

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday August 03 2020, @12:36AM

      by Thexalon (636) on Monday August 03 2020, @12:36AM (#1030501)

      "Yeah! Spying on US citizens is our job!" - FBI and NSA

      --
      "Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by takyon on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:20PM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:20PM (#1030292) Journal

    Graham defends Trump on TikTok, backs Microsoft purchase [thehill.com]

    Mixed signals. Also, this ban threat will seemingly help Microsoft to pay less for TikTok U.S. assets.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:41PM (#1030307)

      No problem, Putin will buy it.

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:20PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:20PM (#1030371) Journal

      Hey, man, it's a STEAL! Government does corporate raiding now, cool, huh?

      Kinda like taking land from the indians and selling it to the banks, who can then collect the rent

      Win win!

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:42PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:42PM (#1030309)

    Is Trump going to effect a ban? The only precedent I can think of is US rules against non citizens owning traditional media outlets. And what will foreign reactions be to our Internet companies operating in their countries?

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by KilroySmith on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:52PM (3 children)

      by KilroySmith (2113) on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:52PM (#1030315)

      I've been asking the same question. What authority does the President have to "ban" an app?

      He could, I guess, call it a national security issue - TikTok collecting user information somehow affects national security, thus shouldn't be allowed to operate in the USA. Such a finding would, I should think, horrify the Googles, Facebooks, Instagrams, and Twitters of the world as it would have huge implications on their collection, use, and sale of similar information.

      Still, I would expect strong push-back from the EFF and ACLU - banning a popular method of communications would seem to conflict with the first amendment to the US Constitution.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:59PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:59PM (#1030388)

        TikTok collecting user information somehow affects national security

        Oh no! The CCP knows we have twerks and cat videos. Seriously, what's on TikTok that threatens national security? OK, they have metadata. They can aggregate a lot of stuff. They could even dig dirt on some people that are stupid enough to say... post a twerking video with the girl they're cheating on... but if you're that stupid you're going to get caught anyway and that's INDIVIDUAL security, not national security so... again... what's TikTok doing that threatens national security? People are posting stuff, right? It's public. If the app claims that it's private, everybody should know that's right up there with "I have a bridge to sell you". If people with access to classified data are posting it on the public Internet, that's espionage on the person that does it, not the app. I don't get it.

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:25PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:25PM (#1030395)

          AFAIK, the app itself has excessive permissions on the phone, it could conceivably be easily programmed to turn on sensors and networks if geolocated to a place the Chinese are interested in.

          That problem isn't new. Furbys were banned from spy offices ~20 years ago, and it used to be that personal phones had to be locked up before entering a secure facility. The BYOD movement has toppled those rules in the commercial arena at least.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @01:11AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @01:11AM (#1031055)

          Here's a question. How many Americans serve in the government, federal, state or municipal? What's the headcount of their immediate friends or families that can influence those people? Out of that number, what's the likelyhood on their social media data and likely other more private data collected, directly or as a digital trail through that initial collection, that can be used to manipulate those in the government position's behavior, even slightly to overlook something or prefer one decision over another?

          This isn't a conspiracy theory. We've already seen them doing it against Professors in Universities with the recent arrest. Without the data collection and information insights from it, they wouldn't have known the right levers and buttons needed to get the outcome they want.

          Sure, your own government is doing the same thing, but the outcome is quite different when a foreign government is doing it. If that isn't related to national security/sovereignity, what is?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:59PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:59PM (#1030320)

      You think US companies freely operare in China?

    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday August 03 2020, @12:38AM

      by Thexalon (636) on Monday August 03 2020, @12:38AM (#1030502)

      The same authority by which he does a lot of the stuff he wants to do: He says he can do it, and nobody with the ability to stop him wants to go through the hassle and take the risk.

      --
      "Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:14PM (2 children)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Sunday August 02 2020, @04:14PM (#1030326)

    should have the right to invade Americans' privacy.

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:23PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:23PM (#1030373) Journal

      Exactly... So Microsoft buys this, and we can all sleep comfortably, with both eyes closed.

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday August 03 2020, @06:30PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday August 03 2020, @06:30PM (#1030845) Journal

      The next thing you know the Russians will have to stick to meddling in Russian elections.

      --
      Satin worshipers are obsessed with high thread counts because they have so many daemons.
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by ilPapa on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:19PM

    by ilPapa (2366) on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:19PM (#1030350) Journal

    "The Tulsa rally would have been tremendous if not for those meddlesome Tik Tok kids!"

    "Nuke them from space."

    --
    You are still welcome on my lawn.
  • (Score: 0, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:49PM (9 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:49PM (#1030385)

    I saw this covered on the idiot box. They were showing all these teens and some grown people dancing in their "underwear" like they are monkeys, and posting other retarded shit. Trump can try to interfere with tik tok but these poor morons who were raised in the Bolshevik indoctrination centers and learned how to be mindless consumers who dance and play sports instead of learning about technology, economics, business, etc. will be the slaves of someone, quite possibly the Chinese. Their parents should be ashamed of themselves. You people are truly the stupidest of whores.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:30PM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @07:30PM (#1030397)

      When I am exposed to the MSM news, I can see they're pushing the "stupid human tricks" angle of Tiktok, but for some reason they're not carrying that further into a "Racist Trump wants to outlaw playful Chinese app!" message.

      Perhaps the concern about Tiktok is bipartisan?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:16PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:16PM (#1030407)

        Nah, their secondary message is already "buy a new smart phone from one of our sponsors".

      • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:03PM (2 children)

        by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:03PM (#1030431)

        Perhaps the concern about Tiktok is bipartisan?

        I don't think there is really much concern about TikTok. It's just another make believe issue being pumped up in hopes it helps the president's campaign.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:12PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:12PM (#1030458)

          I don't think there is really much concern about TikTok. It's just another make believe issue being pumped up in hopes it helps the president's campaign.

          But the MSM wouldn't tolerate an issue that would benefit Trump; they would cast it as some sort of evil, racist, treasonous plan. They are not, so that indicates the democrats have something to gain from this too.

          • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @06:44PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @06:44PM (#1030856)

            Still sucking the Trump cock huh? Awww, poor little fascists angry that people don't like fascists. So sad.

    • (Score: 5, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:29PM (3 children)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday August 02 2020, @08:29PM (#1030414) Journal

      Please explain to us how Bolshevik indoctrination (they were communists, remember...?) would make someone a slave of wasteful *capitalistic* behaviors? I don't think you know what at least one of those words you're using means.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:35PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @09:35PM (#1030447)

        Arent you trying to be a state sanctioned pill pusher?

      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:24PM (1 child)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday August 02 2020, @10:24PM (#1030465)

        That particular A/C is almost completely ignorant of anything outside whatever tiny little bubble he lives in.

        Bolshevik is just some term he has heard of on One America News, and he probably thinks it's an insult. I don't imagine for a second he has even heard of the Mensheviks.

        • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 03 2020, @01:16AM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday August 03 2020, @01:16AM (#1030521) Journal

          Rule number one of Shevik club:
          Never talk about the Mensheviks.

          --
          “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @11:12AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @11:12AM (#1031192)

    After TikTok users trolled Trum's rally - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/style/tiktok-trump-rally-tulsa.html [nytimes.com]

    so now Trump is trying to enact revenge on TikTok, something he doesn't even know existed before his failed rally.

    President of America, no better than a typical African dictator wanna-be.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @11:37AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @11:37AM (#1031195)

      TikTok lusers already got trolled with Chinese spyware.

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