this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2024
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[–] FartsWithAnAccent 178 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Awesome, do META next please!

[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

But how does that help capitalists make more money by eliminating their competition?

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[–] spookex 69 points 8 months ago

Even better

[–] scarabic 60 points 8 months ago (1 children)

There will be a rush of US startups to replace it, and they will all be stage 1 enshittification, so they might actually be good for a while, like TikTok once was.

[–] simplejack 22 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Or people will just migrate to the YouTube and Insta clones.

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 8 months ago

If they said or implied anything else, they would lose all leverage. The public couldn't care less about who owns tiktok, so they need people to think they'll lose it to have any public support.

[–] kerrigan778 52 points 8 months ago (38 children)
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[–] laxe 45 points 8 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (2 children)

It's probably not a bluff. They've pretty much saturated the U.S. market; there's not much room left to grow here. It would make more sense to focus their efforts on growing in other regions where they have plenty of headroom to increase their userbase and monetization. Depending on how things play out, they could match their current revenue in a matter of years and still have room left to grow. There's also the potential to re-enter the U.S. market down the line. Why would they throw that all away and essentially create their own competitor by selling their core technology and diluting/confusing their brand with whatever U.S. company they sell to?

[–] NucleusAdumbens 27 points 8 months ago

I'd think the fact they've saturated the US market is exactly why it'd be too valuable to give up. They'd lose a ton of revenue, tanking their valuation. They may be better off selling. From there they could prob just clone it and promote a competing service in those unclaimed markets using a portion of the extra sale price they get for maintaining (and selling a product with) US market dominance

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago

They’ve pretty much saturated the U.S. market; there’s not much room left to grow here

That... doesn't make sense to me. So because there's no room to grow, they pull out of the U.S. and lose the likely ~$1 bil spent on digital stickers for live streamers?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (9 children)

US should call their bluff. If Tiktok gets banned, people will complain for a little bit until people forget and move on to what's next. Why doesn't an American company make something that's practically identical? People will be all desperate for their 5 second dopamine rush that they will download anything.

[–] ripcord 32 points 8 months ago (5 children)
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[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago

India did this and Instagram reels is the main one that benefited. Probably be the same for US if it pulls through on this.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's Vine time! What? Just... just bring it back. Call it "Kudzu" or some crap if Elon Musk owns the rights to Vine.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It’s fre

Free sha voc a doo.

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[–] Treczoks 33 points 8 months ago

Could they please pull from Europe, too?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago (2 children)

We tried that with facebook in the eu. Didn’t work

[–] [email protected] 31 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (8 children)

Me, an American, to my German cousin:

"So, yeah, I'm changing email addresses, here's my new one."

"Email? Are you using WhatsApp?"

"Er, no, how about text?"

"We all have WhatsApp."

"Okay, maybe Google Chat?"

"WhatsApp? WhatsApp."

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[–] Hildegarde 25 points 8 months ago

Google knew youtube shorts didn't stand a chance in a fair market.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod 20 points 8 months ago (3 children)

If the Chinese government is behind this, it's a great play. Having Joe Biden be "the guy who banned tik tok" would severely undermine his election chances.

[–] TheEighthDoctor 11 points 8 months ago (3 children)
[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

14 year olds aren't the only people who use Tik Tok

[–] RedAggroBest 18 points 8 months ago

Lemmy really seems to generally think that TikTok isn't massively overall popular. Lemmy would have someone thinking it's a niche app only being used by teenagers.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (4 children)

If money wasn't the point, then influence was. Congress is right to shut them down.

Foreign owned, FARA-unregistered influence operations have never been a facet of "free speech" in the USA.

[–] peopleproblems 12 points 8 months ago

It's pretty weird that they'd admit it.

The smart move would have been to sell it and take the L, and use the new money to build the next thing.

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[–] asdfasdfasdf 15 points 8 months ago
[–] carl_dungeon 13 points 8 months ago

Bye Felecia

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

Even better

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

Okay bye Felicia

[–] Linkerbaan 12 points 8 months ago

Nice hope they won't budge.

[–] SulaymanF 11 points 8 months ago (2 children)

First, negotiations are not yet over, so they’re hoping courts overturn the ban.

Second, TikTok is very popular outside the US too, though 40% of ad revenue is in the US. They’d survive.

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