India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps

Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by ThrustVectoring on Monday June 29, 2020 @03:37PM (#23681633)

While private corporations also have incentives and private individuals bring their own biases into play, there remain extremely important differences between the capabilities of corporations and states. State actors can effectuate arrests within their own territory, deploy military assets, make territorial claims, conduct assassinations, and generally use their information-gathering and influence to support significantly more violent goals.

Like, I get that the milquetoast world advertisers want to live in is some kind of lens that colors the views and opinions presented by their platforms. It's just that the worst that happens from being influenced by it is it that you live a more boring life and consume more product. That's not nearly as worrying as being influenced to hating racial minorities in an attempt to distract from the South China Sea or something.

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by ianleeclark on Monday June 29, 2020 @04:15PM (#23682199)

> State actors can effectuate arrests within their own territory, deploy military assets, make territorial claims, conduct assassinations, and generally use their information-gathering and influence to support significantly more violent goals.

Coca cola sent death squads into South America.

> That's not nearly as worrying as being influenced to hating racial minorities in an attempt to distract from the South China Sea or something.

I don't know if you've noticed, but there are currently protests going on in America over racist injustice.

> It's just that the worst that happens from being influenced by it is it that you live a more boring life and consume more product

And how do you think this interacts with the above point?

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by lern_too_spel on Monday June 29, 2020 @04:35PM (#23682577)

> Coca cola sent death squads into South America.

That's an argument against Coca Cola doing business in South America, not against banning an advertising platform in South America.

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by ianleeclark on Monday June 29, 2020 @04:37PM (#23682625)

No, it's actually pointing out the statement I quoted is fundamentally wrong. Private corporations can and have done the same things you accused state actors of doing

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by ThrustVectoring on Monday June 29, 2020 @06:42PM (#23684275)

So it's a difference in degree, not kind. My point stands. I'm far more concerned about an organization that has imprisoned thousands with essentially zero consequences than one that hired some paramilitaries and got in significant legal trouble for it.

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by alasdair_ on Monday June 29, 2020 @07:32PM (#23684721)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by edgyquant on Tuesday June 30, 2020 @01:37AM (#23686913)

The Spanish-American War was more than 130 years years ago

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by alasdair_ on Tuesday June 30, 2020 @04:42PM (#23694541)

Sure but the company (now Named Chiquita) continues to do things that are illegal. For example: “ In March 2007 Chiquita Brands pleaded guilty in a United States Federal court to aiding and abetting a terrorist organization”

Also arms smuggling, anti-union activity (violence) etc.

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Re:India bans TikTok, WeChat, and dozens of other Chinese apps by gruez on Monday June 29, 2020 @05:19PM (#23683227)

>Private corporations can and have done the same things you accused state actors of doing

I mean yeah, since those corporations were acting like a quasi-nation state. If you're willing to go back far enough, you could also point to the East India company as evidence of corporate power, although in those cases they pretty much were the state in the areas that they operated. I'm not sure whether you could say the same about corporations today.

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