Every country should ban Instagram and X or force them to sell to local companies. It's unacceptable to have those apps collecting data and influencing people, especially since they are controlled by oligarchs who are cronies of the current autocratic and lawless regime in the US.
I have thought that TikTok was a harmful element for many years and was happy it got banned. Though now it is more like it was "banned". DJT uses everything for his own purposes. So now he uses TicTok and it sounds like it's a takeover. (a deal made to keep it running, if he can use it for his playtime/propaganda?) This kind of influence is killing us. I wish two things right now: that Bulwark would do a show on the other platforms that are having weird things happen like on Meta a lot of people are being "disabled" for crimes they have not committed and cannot be reinstated. The numbers are huge. Meta says they are getting rid of bad actors and criminals but if you go on Reddit there are multiple threads of innocent people who have been thrown off - personal and business accounts. What is Meta doing? They let AI take over. Are they ruining their own platform? Then I have another wish: that I could borrow Tim's very cool shirt for a picnic this afternoon, I have my own pearls. Thanks guys. Good topic
“bipartisan legislation” is basically a slur now. American voters saw this was the one thing the entire federal government was able to agree on and immediately rejected it. Also we can’t keep pretending that a government incapable of properly regulating domestic social media companies has any real interest in protecting privacy of the citizens.
For Tim, Andrew, and everyone else at The Bulwark -
You guys failed to mention that TikTok is NOT available to Chinese citizens in this concerning report. (actually very few reports ever mention this key fact)
I assume you guys would like to change the opinions of the public at large - I think that the simplest way to connect this latest travesty of justice to the majority of TikTok users would be to reeeeally lean in to the fact that the Chinese government does not allow its own citizens to have TikTok, period.
If that simple concept eludes a majority of the US population, the fight is already lost...
Dammit!! 🤬
I always love both of your reportings everyday! 💖 💖
Tim and Andrew thanks for breaking this down. It’s scary, but not surprising that the 🇨🇳 government is now running interference from the truth to benefit DT. We can only hope the many users know the assignment with the WH account. 💥😈
Another problem with this - I thought most government employees weren’t allowed to use TikTok or have the app installed on their work phones? So who in the Trump admin is posting these for him? Are they using government devices to do this?
I’m sure Tim is already on this, but Trump is now threatening Colorado if his stooge Tina Peters isn’t released from prison. (No, Trump can’t pardon her because it’s a state charge.)
I think that it was mostly a Republican-led effort at first. As we entered 2024 and Democrats were waking up to the reality that Trump could win the election, Democrats started to take the side of banning TikTok as well since it is so good at manipulating people's ideas.
So if TikTok can add an IDF guy who gets them to tweak the algorithm and suddenly people no longer see the atrocities in Gaza, doesn't that also show a danger of TikTok? In addition to concerns about what TikTok does show kids and young adults, there have also been a lot of concerns about censorship on TikTok--not trusting the Chinese government, or in this case, some random IDF guy, to decide what people should not see.
Musk wanted to get inside to get the data. They come in the night for your data: The Data Vampires. https://bsky.app/profile/opsan.bsky.social/post/3lr4ypkczrk2u
Every country should ban Instagram and X or force them to sell to local companies. It's unacceptable to have those apps collecting data and influencing people, especially since they are controlled by oligarchs who are cronies of the current autocratic and lawless regime in the US.
I'd forgotten all about this. Is this what autocracy creep looks like?
I have thought that TikTok was a harmful element for many years and was happy it got banned. Though now it is more like it was "banned". DJT uses everything for his own purposes. So now he uses TicTok and it sounds like it's a takeover. (a deal made to keep it running, if he can use it for his playtime/propaganda?) This kind of influence is killing us. I wish two things right now: that Bulwark would do a show on the other platforms that are having weird things happen like on Meta a lot of people are being "disabled" for crimes they have not committed and cannot be reinstated. The numbers are huge. Meta says they are getting rid of bad actors and criminals but if you go on Reddit there are multiple threads of innocent people who have been thrown off - personal and business accounts. What is Meta doing? They let AI take over. Are they ruining their own platform? Then I have another wish: that I could borrow Tim's very cool shirt for a picnic this afternoon, I have my own pearls. Thanks guys. Good topic
Mad King Darn'old Drumpf of Dementia-Felonia should make Shady Vance the Czar of Tic Toc.
“bipartisan legislation” is basically a slur now. American voters saw this was the one thing the entire federal government was able to agree on and immediately rejected it. Also we can’t keep pretending that a government incapable of properly regulating domestic social media companies has any real interest in protecting privacy of the citizens.
Well, at least Andrew was having more fun in this one!
Also, it doesn't matter one bit that no one really cares about the ban; it matters a whole lot that the President is just ignoring the law.
For Tim, Andrew, and everyone else at The Bulwark -
You guys failed to mention that TikTok is NOT available to Chinese citizens in this concerning report. (actually very few reports ever mention this key fact)
I assume you guys would like to change the opinions of the public at large - I think that the simplest way to connect this latest travesty of justice to the majority of TikTok users would be to reeeeally lean in to the fact that the Chinese government does not allow its own citizens to have TikTok, period.
If that simple concept eludes a majority of the US population, the fight is already lost...
Dammit!! 🤬
I always love both of your reportings everyday! 💖 💖
😁☕️
Why would Byte Dance (CCP) agree to “give” Til Tok away? Kinda the same as why would Putin agree to a cease fire.
It does not get mentioned enough that DONALD TRUMP was one of the original advocates of banning TikTok back in his first term!!
Trump in part got the ball rolling in Congress that led to them passing the bill to ban TikTok
Also, great point by Andrew about the irony of our own government, not China, monkeying around with the algorithm.
Tim and Andrew thanks for breaking this down. It’s scary, but not surprising that the 🇨🇳 government is now running interference from the truth to benefit DT. We can only hope the many users know the assignment with the WH account. 💥😈
Another problem with this - I thought most government employees weren’t allowed to use TikTok or have the app installed on their work phones? So who in the Trump admin is posting these for him? Are they using government devices to do this?
I’m sure Tim is already on this, but Trump is now threatening Colorado if his stooge Tina Peters isn’t released from prison. (No, Trump can’t pardon her because it’s a state charge.)
https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/08/21/trump-threat-colorado-tina-peters
Trump just keeps finding new ways to break the law…
I think that it was mostly a Republican-led effort at first. As we entered 2024 and Democrats were waking up to the reality that Trump could win the election, Democrats started to take the side of banning TikTok as well since it is so good at manipulating people's ideas.
So if TikTok can add an IDF guy who gets them to tweak the algorithm and suddenly people no longer see the atrocities in Gaza, doesn't that also show a danger of TikTok? In addition to concerns about what TikTok does show kids and young adults, there have also been a lot of concerns about censorship on TikTok--not trusting the Chinese government, or in this case, some random IDF guy, to decide what people should not see.