TikTok's, by extension Xi jinping, 78-year old Useful Idiot

Another DD meltdown

 

They took it down for 12 hours for some "updates"

Rocket River

 

The issue I have isn't really with the ban itself. The government should have a way to battle how other countries influence our citizens. I have an issue with the lack of transparency and the fact that Trump is using this to force a sale to his rich buddies so they can have more control of "modern news" avenues.

 

Zoomers want their Jina apps.

www.cnet.com /tech/services-and-software/as-tiktok-ban-nears-peeved-users-flock-to-other-chinese-social-media-apps/
As TikTok Ban Nears, Peeved Users Flock to Other Chinese Social Media Apps

Some TikTok users aren't waiting until the upcoming Jan. 19 ban to test out other short-form video sharing apps, but instead of Meta's social media sites or the Fediverse, they're swarming to other Chinese-owned mobile software platforms.

Two apps owned by Chinese companies -- Xiaohongshu (which translates to "little red book" and has also been called RedNote) and Lemon8, which is owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance -- are topping the free app download charts in the US for iPhone and Android users. RedNote is owned by Xingyin Information Technology, a private company based in Shanghai.

As Jen Hamilton, one popular TikTok user, explained in a video, the act of downloading the Chinese apps is a form of protest against the moves to shut down TikTok in the US. "You don't want the Chinese to have our very sensitive personal data? We will drop it off directly," Hamilton said. "I do not care."

RedNote has been likened to a cross between Pinterest and Instagram, focusing on short-form lifestyle content. Lemon8, a sister app to TikTok, also has a Pinterest-like aesthetic but is more focused on videos about lifestyle topics such as food, home and wellness.

Lawmakers have expressed concern for years that TikTok, which has 170 million users in the US, poses a national security threat interwoven with privacy risks. Last year, a newly enacted federal law required that TikTok find a US-based buyer or be shut down, with a deadline of Sunday, Jan. 19. Lawyers representing TIkTok have argued that the matter is a free speech issue. The US Supreme Court is expected within the next few days to rule on whether to uphold that law.

It's unclear how a TikTok ban, if the law is upheld, might affect access to other apps owned by Chinese companies including RedNote and Lemon8. That hasn't stopped Hamilton and other users from starting to learn Chinese languages and directing friends to their profiles on those TikTok alternative platforms. Language-learning app Duolingo announced on Jan. 15 that it's seen a whopping 216% growth in Mandarin learners compared with last year.

Other TikTok alternatives that appear to be gaining ground on the app charts include short-form video apps Flip and Clapper, both based in the US. Each is in the top five of free downloaded apps in the Apple App Store.

 

need some of you economics experts to explain how this might work

Trump’s dream TikTok deal could set a blueprint for doing business with China

https://nypost.com/2025/01/22/busin...al-could-set-blueprint-for-us-china-business/

excerpt:

With President Donald Trump back in office, his idea for a TikTok joint venture could set a precedent for how he expects all Chinese companies to operate in the US.

On Sunday evening, he posted on Truth Social: “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to [stay] up.”

The next day, Trump signed an executive order that gave TikTok an additional 75 days to find a buyer before facing a ban.

While it’s unclear what the US owning 50% of TikTok means or how it might work, sources told NYNext that it is more likely Trump will push for a joint venture that would combine TikTok and an American company, sharing profit and risk. It could be a blueprint for how all companies with Chinese ownership operate in the States, sources add.

This JV may be much like the deal Trump put together, and later scrapped, in his first term between TikTok and a consortium of American companies. In 2020, Microsoft and Walmart explored a potential deal with the app that could have given them access to the TikTok audience and their data.

Many American companies that are granted the right to do business in China — including McDonald’s, General Motors and Boeing — function as joint ventures, though China has eased some of those rules in recent years. Tesla, for instance, is allowed to operate independently as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise.

“If an industry is required to be in a JV in China, [a Chinese company in that industry] needs to be a JV here,” the source said. “Trump loves the reciprocal trade framework … and he loves this [idea].”
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more at the link

 

Which one of his buddies will pony up the cash, I am sure trump will get his standard "grifter fee" which is % of cost plus future revenue and 25% of the persons soul with the added bonus that they can never say anything negative about the orange man, no matter how ridiculous

Next up for bid.......drum roll, the USPS and the caveat will be that they can cut those pesky rural areas out of their plan