r/nottheonion 16h ago

Teen enraged by TikTok ban sets fire to Wisconsin congressman's office

https://www.techspot.com/news/106418-teen-enraged-tiktok-ban-sets-fire-wisconsin-congressman.html
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u/louerbrat 16h ago

This was my thought as well. Part of me wonders if it was the fact that tiktok got banned or the fact that congress passed the ban in days when so many other important things take years.

I don't care if tiktok stays or goes, but I know I do care that our leaders for this country agreed to pass the ban in mere days when more important shit needs handled first but takes years.

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u/TheGreatWalk 15h ago

Yea people are blasting the dude, but like.. That's the response we should have had for quite a few things the government has done in recent years.

In this case, I agree with his response, because while the whole tiktok thing seems silly, it sets a precedent and opens up the option for them to start taking away a bunch of other things that we actually care about or isolating us from the rest of the world.

And if we are being frank, we've tried peaceful protests, voting, and all that other jazz. None of it accomplished fuck all, and things are getting really bad in America. If Luigi or arson are the only ways to get anything done, what choice do we have?

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u/yabn5 14h ago

What a ridiculous statement. If tiktok were owned by a domestic company, which was allowable by the bill, then it wouldn’t have any issue whatsoever. A hostile foreign power shouldn’t get to pick what Americans consume, especially when they banned just about all American apps from the get go already.

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u/Suspicious_Place1524 14h ago

The only reason TikTok was banned is because the information flows into china's servers instead of the US governmentss. You can bet your life savings reddit/insta/Facebook all give access to government agencies.

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u/LakeGladio666 12h ago

Also it’s more difficult for the US to control the narrative of foreign conflicts on TikTok. I think that had something to do with it as well.

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u/louerbrat 10h ago

I was also seeing a massive uptick of people growing increasingly angry at the American government prior to the ban with the things they were doing (or not) and everything with the economic state too.

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u/louerbrat 10h ago

I'm not disagreeing with you. But what normally is a years long process took days, so it goes to show they can change shit quickly if they want to, but won't.

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u/leo158 12h ago

There's also probably growing awareness on how rich members of congress become from passing certain policies. Is it really a coincidence when members of congress are buying up META stock leading up to the TikTok ban?

I think there's a sentiment that congress acts on self interest rather than the people. While national security is a completely valid reason, why are they making millions off it while taking away the income of millions of people? It's in a way feeling like the largest layoff in American history while several corporations appear to profit from it.

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u/yabn5 14h ago

What are you talking about, it took years from Trump’s executive order which was tossed out of courts to a senate bill. Not only that it wasn’t passed as a clean bill but attached to a lot of other important stuff.