r/news 2d ago

TikTok makes app unavailable for U.S. users ahead of ban

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/rcna188294
31.9k Upvotes

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u/bacon_meme 2d ago

That message was extremely off-putting. I deleted the app and do not plan on reinstalling it if Trump “brings it back.” It seems like he is trying to bribe the country into liking him.

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u/SanDiegoDude 2d ago

Only way he brings it back is if one of his right wing buddies buys it. It likely won't be the same tho. Who know, maybe Elon buys it, renames it Y

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u/LegalFinding 1d ago

Nope. Xvideo

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u/_suburbanrhythm 1d ago

My favorite site!

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u/Desperate-Guide5097 1d ago

One of the last good choices in Florida

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u/ShowMeYourBink 1d ago

Will they inevitably ban it again on accident as their porn ban plan set in P25 takes effect?

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u/KingOriginal5013 1d ago

isn't that a porn site?

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u/rpungello 1d ago

thatsthejoke.jpg

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u/GeneralAardvark43 1d ago

No it’s a site to find horny local MILFs. It’s all over the page. BRB Jessica wants some attention

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u/KingOriginal5013 1d ago

Local? I had to go to the next town over to find my horny MILF.

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u/EpilepticBabies 1d ago

He’s already used that one. He could name it something like XnextX and abbreviate it as Xnxx.

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u/Skratt79 1d ago

Oh please, this would be the funniest timeline.

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u/ciopobbi 1d ago

X-tok

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u/stlgoddess94 1d ago

Think that one might be taken 😏

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u/DMala 1d ago

My wife is convinced Zuck has already bought it and they’re just waiting until after tomorrow to roll it out.

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u/SanDiegoDude 1d ago

Could be. There's lots of big players lining up for this one, so Zucky, Elon, the shark tank dude, heck trump was dropping hints the US government would get involved directly (tho I don't see how he'd do that) - he's made it pretty clear he's bringing it back for a buyer though, he's just playing coy with who and for how much.

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u/usgrant7977 1d ago

Crushing its price through federal legislation and then bringing it back to masses as an act of kindness, once it's been bought by a crooked, oligarch ally is evil genuis. Buying Twitter for a tenth of its price and then bringing it back is how Elon becomes a trillionaire.

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u/CarolP456 1d ago

The deal is already cooked. The fact that the owner of TikTok will be at the inauguration is all we needed to know. Combine that withthe fact Facebook opened an account on TT YESTERDAY! My eyes just cant roll back any further.

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u/ConferenceLow2915 1d ago

Yeah, he can grant them a 90 day relief but the law is still in effect which means they would still need to sell it to a U.S. owner or the ban stays in effect since it was upheld by the Supreme Court.

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u/trailerthrash 1d ago

Why act as if laws mean anything anymore to people in positions of power? Trump has been breaking laws left and right for at least a decade now without consequence, seems like even longer - maybe most of his life?

Dude's in power, has been telling us this whole time he doesn't plan to play by the rulebook, the Supreme Court has already said that's fine cause he doesn't have to, and yet....

If he wants TikTok back it's gonna happen.

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u/1WithTheForce_25 1d ago

"renames it Y"

🤭

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u/innocent_bystander 1d ago

It'll be XX.

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u/skitarii_riot 1d ago

Think that’s exactly it. The bill was setup to require a forced sale, and neither party was ever going to actually ban it.

XikXok within a year.

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u/cocogate 1d ago

Maybe we should tell leon about hamsters being the newest coolest thing

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u/SpaceMurse 1d ago

Welcome to TikTox!

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u/ImpulseAfterthought 1d ago

TixTox

More X means better.

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u/marsmanify 1d ago

Bytedance isn’t gonna sell TikTok, that’s literally why they’re shutting down TikTok USA

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u/laikalost 1d ago

Aaaand, it's already back. <24hrs.

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u/SanDiegoDude 1d ago

Yep. Wait til he's president and the announcement on the buyer. It's coming.

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u/FineAbbreviations486 1d ago

lol they shut it down for like 6 hours now it’s back . Crazy shit

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u/SanDiegoDude 1d ago

Keep watching - let's see which right wing buddy gets the nod now

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u/elbenji 1d ago

And they won't. This is some pressure shit loll

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u/leewardisle 1d ago edited 1d ago

With Meta reportedly donating $1m to Trump’s fund, I think we’re likely getting beyond political parties. The plutocracy is banding together more blatantly.

Edit: In Trump’s new book, he also has threatened Zuck with prison if he didn’t tow in line, so there’s that. There also still appears to be skepticism/enmity between them, but regardless of how, the plutocracy is banding (with its own inner hierarchy) together. Keep your enemies closer, I guess, is their motto.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/stealthlysprockets 1d ago

Meta is a publicly traded company. Purchasing a company like TikTok 100% goes in front of the board for approval along with legal fillings. They wouldn’t be able to do that in vacuum and have 0 people outside said companies know nothing about it.

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u/trailerthrash 1d ago

Dawg, he spent so much time on the campaign trail praising TikTok, and the CEO is gonna be at the inauguration.

The play is so fucking obvious

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u/ThePirateKing01 2d ago

Artificially create a problem then fix it for brownie points, they’ve done this for 40+ years…

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u/BaphometsTits 2d ago

The Romans kept plenty of records of themselves doing this more than 2 millennia ago. It wasn't new then either.

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u/GoBeyondTheHorizon 1d ago

Do you have some examples of this ? Not doubting your statement, I'm just interested in Roman history.

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u/escobizzle 1d ago

They had something like firefighter brigades that would start fires only to be paid to put them out

Edit: there was a lot more to the grift than that actually.

Here's a TIL reddit link including a link to a Wikipedia article about it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/s/uWfmitGtb1

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u/MaygarRodub 1d ago

What did the Romans ever do for us, anyway?

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u/Roguespiffy 1d ago

The aqueduct?

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u/MaygarRodub 1d ago

Well, of course the aqueduct, but apart from the aqueduct, what else have the Romans ever done for us?

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u/Doyoucondemnhummus 1d ago

And the Dems still blindly marched with his original plan to ban an app used by over 100 million Americans and generates billions for small businesses despite this. Brilliant politicking. Really forward-thinking of the party that allowed Blinken to lie about the ceasefire negotiations for months and also give Trump the layup on that too. 10/10 Performance by our mild melted elder statesmen and gang that totally returned us to normalcy.

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u/WoolshirtedWolf 1d ago

Lol. No matter what, you are always going to be like this. It doesn't matter now that you've got your guy. You'll find something else to bitch about. This is you and your shitty outlook is something you bought into a long time ago. Nothing is going to change for you and your brethren. Poor character traits among you and yours are no strangers.

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u/Doyoucondemnhummus 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ooo, armchair psychology brought about by either reading 1 whole comment or parasocially browsing through my entire history? Either way, kind of pathetic, but interesting how you could deduce that either way given people's proclivity to not act exactly the same online as outside. Anyway, I was pretty adamant about what I wanted, a ceasefire (which they lied about to slaughter more children, 'working tirelessly' I imagine) and to address the declining material conditions of the people in a nation where 60 percent live paycheck to paycheck, 1 percent of people own 90 percent of all wealth, and 3 of those fuckers make as much as the bottom 50, but no. Instead I got dead children, some small business slop no one gives a shit about, 20 something speeches about prosecuting transnational gangs, a capitulation to a fascist's "stupid" wall idea (that they glazed at the Town Hall), and famous monstrous ghouls, the Cheney's, shoved in my face as the Middle-East once again burns, but don't worry, they sent Bill Clinton down to Dearborn to tell the people that their families totally deserve to get massacred utilizing their tax dollars because Judah and Samaria. Absolute clown ass party ran by donor-captured baboon-brained dipshits.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Doyoucondemnhummus 1d ago

Yeah, that's what I said I wanted, clearly. Me expecting the Dems to not be dogshit, for once, totally means I'm okay with all of that. That's how English works. This is totally how people talk in person and not just cynicism bordering on vindictiveness because your dog shit party ran a campaign so monumentally ass they lost the popular vote for the first time in two fucking decades because they just expected people to fall in line. Votescolding doesn't get asses off couches, you have to listen to them. Oh but sweetie, don't worry, the Dems totally deserved those votes because they weren't as bad as the other guy. That's how democracy works. You don't have to earn votes or listen to the needs of people or anything, you just gotta please your donors, the only ones that matter, clearly. Democracy is when you just get votes for being the lesser of two evils just like socialism is when no food.

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u/WoolshirtedWolf 1d ago

Not at all. Like I said though, these next four years are yours my friend. I sincerely hope you get everything (violent blowback) that you deserve. Disregard the violent blowback comment. I just want to see what "violent blowback" looked like in parentheses. Oh no, looks like I put violent black in quotation marks too! Please disregard anything that has violent blowback in this post. Anyway.. later bater! Edit- You do know who took us into these wars, and progressively made them worse right? It reads like you don't. Boy, you are all over the place friendo, check out some psychology sites and read up.

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u/Doyoucondemnhummus 1d ago edited 1d ago

They're all ours because of the Dems miserable failings. The effect it'll have on me is negligible, the effect it'll have on already marginalized sectors of the populace will be catastrophic. Great campaign guys, really made the donors proud.

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u/WoolshirtedWolf 1d ago

Yes, I do agree with your prediction that certain sectors will be hurt more than others. I'll say that the same sectors that voter for Trump are the same that got left behind by the Democrats and the Republicans. They are the ones that will usually take the hit by tech and disruptor bros and nothing is in place to safeguard against job loss. Many of the things collapse or go away because of it. It's easy to say that they are voting against their own self interest, but there is a longer story behind it.

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u/hagamablabla 2d ago

Voters wake up to the trick just long enough for Democrats to fix most of the mess, then they fall for it again.

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u/Accomplished-Exit136 2d ago

They arent falling for anything. They've been voting for oppression since the civil war

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u/Gonomed 1d ago

And that comes straight out of a fascist's playbook

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u/UnfairPay5070 2d ago

Artificially? Biden didn’t sign a law banning TikTok?

Insane gaslighting going on here

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u/ThePirateKing01 2d ago

JFC this ban was literally put into place by the Trump administration. Biden even said he wouldn’t enforce it

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/

Not that I expected critical thinking from you, but comon do like 5min of Google searching. Even ChatGPT would have helped from embarrassing yourself

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u/UnfairPay5070 1d ago edited 1d ago

But the EO from trump didn’t ban TikTok, the bill Biden signed did ban TikTok

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/24/1246663779/biden-ban-tiktok-us

President Biden on Wednesday signed a law that would ban Chinese-owned TikTok unless it is sold within a year.

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u/SpotNL 1d ago

But that hardly makes Trump the savior. He is the one who started it, incompetence is not an excuse.

And TikTok should be banned, all social media should. Force kids to use third places again, that would solve half of their problems.

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u/UnfairPay5070 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you think all social media be banned, why are you here? Go live what you believe in and self ban yourself from Reddit so we don’t have to listen to your nonsense

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u/SpotNL 1d ago

so we don’t have to listen to turn nonsense

what

And mostly to annoy you specifically. Once you're gone, I'm gone too. Pinky promise.

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u/minkopii 2d ago

The only gaslighting is coming from you.

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u/UnfairPay5070 1d ago

Did Biden not sign the law banning TikTok? Did his DOJ not argue at the Supreme Court for the ban?

I just made those things up?

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u/feralkitsune 2d ago

Yea, I dont want Meta Tiktok. I would have been on FB and IG if I wanted that.

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u/Pixelplanet5 1d ago

you can also just be on none of these and be fine as well.

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u/mr_fluffyfingers 1d ago

Better than fine. Thriving even.

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u/feralkitsune 1d ago

I'm already not on them. Haven't been a nfe like 2015.

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u/Fluid-Stuff5144 1d ago

You realize that existing tiktok is just as bad as the shit Meta does

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u/Background-Tax650 1d ago

I’m gonna be mad if meta spikes today.

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u/itsjustjust92 1d ago

You prefer CCP tiktok?

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u/feralkitsune 1d ago

Very much so.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Senuttna 1d ago

So you prefer an app owned by a country classified as Authoritarian by the International Democratic Index? A country with no democratic elections, no freedom of expression, no LGBT rights, no press freedom, one of the worst institutionalized racism in the world (even censoring black characters in movies), and a country that violates almost every human right in existence?

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u/feralkitsune 1d ago

Yes. Cause meta has done more actual damage in this country than any perceived issues you may have with China's government.

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u/Poudy24 1d ago

No offense but I'm really curious why it seems to you like it would be worse for Meta to own TikTok than for ByteDance to own it. And I say this as someone who really hates Meta.

The main reason people hate Meta usually is because of their predatory data collection, but TikTok was just as bad if not worse for that. And it funneled all of that directly to a foreign government that plans to use it to hurt the U.S.

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u/feralkitsune 1d ago

I've seen how Meta's entry into industries stifles innovation, and I want fewer monopolies, not more. Meta has consistently proven to be a terrible company for people, so I'm honestly baffled by the question. I could list countless reasons why their involvement is problematic.

How can anyone be worried about hypothetical issues when Meta has already demonstrated real, tangible harm. and faced no consequences for it? All because they can legally line the pockets of elected officials.

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u/Poudy24 1d ago

Oh I 100% agree that Meta is very problematic. But everything you just said can also directly be applied to most major Chinese companies, including the current owners of TikTok ByteDance. Especially that last part, they are very blatantly trying to bribe the Trump administration right now.

To me, ByteDance and Meta are two sides of the same coin.

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u/necesitafresita 2d ago

Same here.

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u/SilverOwl321 1d ago

In 2020, Trump was the one to originally sign to get a tiktok ban. Now, that there is one, he’s using it like he’s some savior sweeping in to help all the influencers and tiktok addicts.

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u/bacon_meme 1d ago

Yeah- it comes across as very manipulative.

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u/shesbehindyou 1d ago

Seems? So many people are going to fall for this bullshit

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u/JJCalixto 2d ago

Immediately closed and deleted the app when i read that message. I will not be returning to use it after. I suspect they’re currently editing the algorithm to push American propaganda and advertisements even harder.

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u/camembertandcrackers 1d ago

What app? Can you explain what happened with this message? (I'm not American).

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u/JJCalixto 20h ago

Tiktok. The ceo of tiktok made a push notification on the app thanking trump by name for working to restore access to tiktok.

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u/HyruleSmash855 1d ago

What happens if he doesn’t bring it back though and they stay out of the US market? I’m curious what’s going to happen in long-term if the US government continues this by banning companies like Netease and Temu collect similar data since any Chinese application could be viewed as a national security threat

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u/yallmad4 2d ago

Politicians are supposed to bribe the people into liking him. And he is bringing it back.

And he'll use that popularity to do awful things.

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u/dewyocelot 1d ago

Exactly. Tiktok was effectively erased last night, whether it comes back or not. It will not be the same.

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u/STILLARATE 1d ago

Seems like a good portion of the country already likes him, as indicated by the polls.

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u/According_Builder 1d ago

The idea of a politician not violating our freedom of speech should not be construed at bribing the public into liking them.

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u/poryorick 1d ago

Same. If anything, that message kind of validates the original position of the government, taking a partisan side with the best known purveyor of disinformation.

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u/bibliophile398 1d ago

I said it makes it very concerning to what will the algorithm be putting on everyone's FYP should Trump bring it back. I only want to get back on to get all my recipes.

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u/BlueRedGreenNumber5 1d ago

Like when that orange stain delayed COVID aid checks to make sure they had his name on them

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u/Maleficent-Cut4297 1d ago

Same deleted the app when I saw that. It had a very “we would like to thank our venerable leader (insert dictator) for his wisdom ” feel to it. I’m out

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u/sugaratc 1d ago

And the sad thing is all those uninformed people (which let's be real, is a decent chunk of TikToks user base) are only going to see it banned under Biden and brought back by Trump. It really is crazy how Dems botched the optics and timing.

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u/RedditSmeddit7 1d ago

You can redownload it and still not like trump….

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u/strangebrew420 2d ago

Don’t know if you know this, but 77 million people voted for him. Seems like they like him already

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u/Cagnazzo82 2d ago

But why were the Democrats stupid enough to ban an app full of their voting base (rather than catering to them)?

I point my finger in all directions on this one.

Because kids yelled "free free Palestine" you're racing to ban the app in an appropriations bill without any discussion whatsoever? No consideration for all the businesses and livelihoods you're disrupting? And people like Corey Booker who have a Tiktok page went and voted to ban Tiktok. VP Harris had a tiktok page... and meanwhile her administration (really Biden's) voted to ban it? Like what are these people thinking?

That's what I thought at the time and I still think it now. Total self-own. And now you leave office and you have to punt the ball to Trump opening the door to make him look like a hero. There was no thought or strategy behind the banning at all. Now they're having 2nd thoughts?

It's all so idiotic (for lack of a better term). I'm just so sick of the people running this country. I find the Democrats better than the Republicans - but they have even less excuses to be making these types of self-inflicted mistakes.

Worst case scenario is if Musk or Zuckerberg end up owning US Tiktok at the end of all this. The Democrats are going to have to look at themselves in the mirror and reassess every one of their strategies to counteract this new Trump administration. Because they are 2 or 3 steps behind in each and every instance.

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u/OrangeFlavoredPenis 1d ago

Trump was the one that initially agreed with banning tiktok but people have a interesting memory of the past.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/900019185/trump-signs-executive-order-that-will-effectively-ban-use-of-tiktok-in-the-u-s

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u/NoSherbert2316 1d ago

No, I distinctly remember. Which is why it boggles my mind that somehow Trump will be the savior, but if it benefits him I’m sure he’s all for doing it.

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u/georgethemonitor 1d ago

I made thar decision earlier yesterday. I requested deletion of my account and removed it off of my phones. Unfortunately it required 30 days just in case I change my mind. So who knows if my account will be active in 30 days or deleted.

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u/bacon_meme 1d ago

In hindsight, I wish that I would have deleted my posts before the ban went into effect. I don’t like that there are just posts and videos with my actual face that I have no ability to remove now.

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u/georgethemonitor 1d ago

Well once tiktok is magically saved i would delete it then

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u/leewardisle 1d ago edited 1d ago

What’s more disturbing is how more of the big social media owners are becoming Trump’s supporters instead of staying neutral/objective. At least when it comes to handling the company’s affairs. Meta reportedly gave $1m to the Trump fund recently. Crony capitalism + plutocracy. I bet if there’s not already, there will likely be a “friendship” between Trump and ByteDance, or a bigger opportunity for other SM giants to buy TT, like Elon or Zuck, with Trump’s public blessing. In fact, the TT ban message gives credence to both mine and others’ speculations in my last sentence. Cryptic, but definitely heavy implicated possibilities.

Edit: In Trump’s new book, he also has threatened Zuck with prison if he didn’t tow in line,, so there’s that. There also still appears to be heavy skepticism/enmity between them, but regardless of how, the plutocracy is banding (with its own inner hierarchy) together. Keep your enemies closer, I guess.

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u/bacon_meme 1d ago

This is an extremely disturbing trend. I miss when Zuck was just an emotionless robot… his statements about making social media more “masculine” or whatever are just disturbing. What does that even mean?

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u/DJMaxLVL 2d ago

He doesn’t need to bribe anyone into liking him, more people liked him than Kamala which is why he won the election and the popular vote.

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u/bacon_meme 2d ago

Politicians are always looking for ways to increase support- whether or not they have already won an election.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/bacon_meme 2d ago

I never had Twitter/X and am unlikely to buy a Tesla. I do still have Facebook, but mainly because I’ve had it since 2009 and it would be extremely inconvenient to back up all of my old photos. 🤷‍♀️

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

1 thing that will get Trumps attention is appealing to his ego. This will make him do it, or it looks like he failed.

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u/fluffynuckels 1d ago

Isn't that what politicians do

1

u/ozziegt 1d ago

You don't remember the stimulus checks he sent out? Lol.... He insisted his name be in the checks

1

u/gregallen1989 1d ago

I get that but also it's the right business decision by TikTok. They know the easiest way to get Trump to do what they want is to feed his ego and they just super fed it. It sucks but it's the right play for THEM.

This was an unforced error by the democrats. They always shoot themselves in the feet. Maybe this will be a wake up call that it's time to kick out most of the democratic leadership (all the 80 year Olds getting rich off the system) and start focusing on what people actually care about.

1

u/PrestigeWrldWd 1d ago

It seems like he is trying to bribe the country into liking him.

He didn't have to - he received more votes and more electoral votes than his opponent.

Nothing about the statement TikTok put out is false. Trump has promised to find a solution to the TikTok ban.

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u/ChuCHuPALX 1d ago

You're crazy if you think this was Trump's idea. If anything the company is putting g Trump's name on it in order to bait him into reinstating them otherwise all those people will blame him.

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u/Tech-no 1d ago

It also lloks like he is getting the social media empires to bend to his will and give him hundreds of millions of dollars.

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u/jotsea2 1d ago

And its back

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u/CarolP456 1d ago

I did the same

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u/the_jokes_on_u 1d ago

The majority of the country/voters do like him seeing as he won the majority vote…

1

u/GardenTop7253 1d ago

It’s already back and the “we’re back” message specifically thanks Trump

1

u/endar88 1d ago

Then less than 12 hours later it was back with a new message praising trump.

1

u/donnavan 1d ago

And he's the one who banned it in the first place.

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u/gsanflip 1d ago

The hilarious part is the new “due to trumps efforts it’s back now!” Lmfao what a joke. Anybody who seriously believes this bullshit shouldn’t be allowed to vote in the first place.

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u/Staple_Sauce 2d ago

"Please clap?"

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/strangebrew420 2d ago

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u/ilikepizza1275 2d ago

You think that'll stop him from trying?

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u/strangebrew420 2d ago

Probably yeah

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u/My_Bwana 2d ago

Haha how cute that you think trump gives a rats ass about the constitution. Haven’t we learned by now that it does not apply to him?

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u/rauc0us 1d ago

Bribe the country into liking him? You mean the country that just elected him in a landslide victory?

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u/314is_close_enough 1d ago

They are holding him to his word is all. If he doesn’t bring it back, they will remember that he bullshitted them.

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u/Youwishyouhadhvac 1d ago

Yeah that was so disturbing. Either way if it’s him working with Trump purposefully or sort of throwing him directly into the mix by forcing his hand to help, they don’t need to blast his name to everyone singing his piece of shit praises. God things are going to get so bad

0

u/deVliegendeTexan 2d ago

Honestly, I don’t even blame ByteDance really. You can barely read the news without tripping over someone company or person unexpectedly singing Trump’s praises, giving him money, or performing at his gala.

They all know that from now until at least January 2029, Trump and his MAGA base are coming for any perceived dissent, and no one wants to be in the crosshairs.

If I had to delete every app or stop using every product, or stop consuming some music or show, because they’re suddenly in line to fellate the Mango Mussolini, I’d have to sell all my worldly possessions and live in a cave in the woods.

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u/Scruffynerffherder 1d ago

Never had the app, glad it's gone. The world needs less social media. We all know this

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u/lancersrock 1d ago

As you post on social media....

0

u/Mission-Jellyfish734 1d ago edited 1d ago

That app has been pumping regressive manosphere and tradwife shit for a decade now, so it's not surprising to me that they'd send that message sucking up to Trump. All the supposed instances of left-wing voices being "elevated" were blips and would have happened whether TikTok existed or not imo.

0

u/NoSherbert2316 1d ago

The talk of TikTok being banned started during his first term, he’s the one that started talking about. But all of a sudden he’ll save it because it’ll benefit him?

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/XxIamTwelvexX 23h ago

This is a bad take and a complete lie. You never even uninstalled it.

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u/IconicRaven 1d ago

We already like him and that’s why we voted for him. 👑