They're Chinese. They know how to handle a shakedown by Party officials: it needs both bribes and flattery.

> I don't think I've seen anything like it in a long time. I also don't think an American company would ever do that as it seems "unprofessional."

Have you been paying attention the last few weeks?

NVIDIA: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/ai-policy/ "As the first Trump Administration demonstrated, America wins through innovation, competition and by sharing our technologies with the world — not by retreating behind a wall of government overreach."

Companies aren't stupid. They know that in order to be successful in today's world, you have to personally fellate Trump. Thanks to the American voters for bringing us this reality.

Ah, the propaganda GUI element. I distinctly remember covering it in my HCI class. Right between 'How to Design Intuitive Interfaces' and 'How to Influence Favorability Ratings with Popups.'

not only has tiktok done this before, uber & lyft & doordash did it in california in the lead up to elections

This is the prologue to a potentially dark time in American history

They didn’t need to turn off in the first place. The Biden administration had already said they wouldn’t impose any fines.

This was literally nothing but a political play intended to give Trump a boost.

The relevant part of the pop-up:

> We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.

Additionally, an extract from TikTok's later statement [1]:

> In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.

What the fuck? That's some incredible bootlicking by TikTok. They've done a great job making Biden seem like the bad guy for banning TikTok, while Trump saves the day by rescuing them. This is especially ironic considering Trump was the one who wanted to introduce the ban in the first place until he gained 15M followers on the platform.

[1] https://xcancel.com/TikTokPolicy/status/1881030712188346459

I mean, the promise to boosting Trump in the popup is probably literally what got them the promise of an executive order, possibly with the suggestion that if they wanted to stay on Trump's good side they'd best ensure their algorithm was Trump-friendly in future.

When have you ever seen anything like it in the past ?

I agree they know what they are doing by manipulating or perhaps secretly enriching Trump. He posted on Truth social that he is seeking 50% US ownership. That’s very odd. Why not 51% so that there is US based voting control? Or full divesture from China as the law requires?

And then there’s the fact that the conditions for an extension aren’t met as written in the law. There’s no way he can certify to Congress that the conditions are met, which is why he’s trying to use an executive order. But that’s illegal.

It’s like America is rapidly turning into 90’s Russia and people are cheering for it.

[flagged]

Cope and seethe!

After the ban, Pornhub displayed a message asking people to contact their state representatives. I reckon it's a self-interest thing.