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that_other_goat t1_j0wu9cq wrote

Reply to comment by Valant0324 in TikTok bans hit more U.S. states; security firm says most access blocked globally by -Ima-Phat-Cookie-Ho-

All social media should be banned on these devices.

Use it on your personal crap not your government issued crap!

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kgal1298 t1_j0x07hc wrote

Well I think some gov accounts use social media in general, but it definitely isn’t necessary for them to be on TikTok, but I’ll miss a few of them

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evil-rick t1_j0xe249 wrote

Apparently Utah’s government was a super popular account on tiktok. It feels like all they’re doing is isolating themselves from the youth vote, but now that I’ve looked into the “bipartisan” support, it’s just one democrat. Tiktok was largely quoted as the reason many zoomers were motivated to vote in the midterms, so a lot of this feels like an attempt to hinder the democratic vote.

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thoughtsarefalse t1_j0yfiwj wrote

Nah. Tiktok can backdoor send any users data to the chinese government if Xi asks them to. That’s a risk. Could tiktok itself be fine and dandy yeah sure, do i trust Xi at al? No i do not.

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evil-rick t1_j0yfm7p wrote

Lmao literally ALL social media sends your data to the government. ALL of it. You guys are eating that propaganda hard. The difference is the US is mad they don’t get it this time.

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_doppler_ganger_ t1_j0yqzu7 wrote

It isn't a ban on everyone's devices just government devices. I don't want a foreign government like China to have easy backdoor access into thousands of government devices. That's a huge and unnecessary security risk.

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thoughtsarefalse t1_j0z6eox wrote

Wrong government tho. The USA has a national interest in not letting china have certain info.

And again. I’m not worried about my info. I’m worried about government officials or their adjacent personell having identifying and location information sent to the chinese govt.

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u801e t1_j0yixia wrote

Two wrongs don't make a right.

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mahabraja t1_j0x45kr wrote

They do but why? There is not one social media outlet that is of even decent reputation. They are trendy sure, but nobody should be looking for nor expect any factual information from social media beyond opinion. It doesn't feel very official or respectable.

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BlindWillieJohnson t1_j0xqdvp wrote

You understand that Facebook and Twitter are good ways for government agencies to get engagement on otherwise ignored announcements, right?

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PattyMcFatty0 t1_j0x7xx8 wrote

I've seen people in Tik Tok comment sections of people talking about this news saying "They're trying to hide information from us."

I can't help but laugh.

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kgal1298 t1_j0xal53 wrote

Except they can still have Twitter and FB accounts so not really. They're just worried about China using TikTok since some reports came out saying that China was purposely tracking some government accounts.

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PattyMcFatty0 t1_j0xraa4 wrote

Just goes to show how addicted they are to tik tok. It's like they forget there's a whole wide web out with loads of hidden information and yet these people assume that tik tok, a place all about simplicity and "main ideas" is the place where you'll get the truth.

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tdt0005 t1_j0xn715 wrote

Why is that funny exactly? I understand the data concerns with China, but those in power are always trying to suppress knowledge. That’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s not necessarily what’s going on here, but I think it’s possible. Tiktok connects people face to face and has connected a lot of niche people together and better understand the people and world around them. Not everyone just uses it for whatever nonsense it’s stereotyped to be. Maybe that’s the case for 90% of users, but they are still aware of those who are using the platform to start realizing they aren’t crazy and it’s not just them.

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PattyMcFatty0 t1_j0xqkd0 wrote

An app which is already proven to have one of the most aggressive and obvious algorithms to find you what you like is not going to give you the truth, it's going to give you what you THINK is the truth. Every "news channel" I've found on the site usually chooses a daily thing to make a video on. Usually that video happens to always fit a specific narrative conservative or progressive because it's easier than making constant videos to ACTUALLY educate people about what they should know.

A lot of these also tend to cover topics that are trendy and would reach the widest audience. So a lot of smaller but still important things are lost or ignored because it's not important on tik tok to cover them.

Edit: It's also funny because it just shows how these news videos don't even tell people that this policy is for state employees only. It just shows that because of the compression it simplifies the news enough so that it's possible to come to a different conclusion than what is actually the truth.

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tdt0005 t1_j0zexa7 wrote

Got it. Powers that be definitely aren’t concerned with keeping us uninformed…

You’re right that you are very prone to confirmation bias. I can see how this might exacerbate the problem, but generally people are already confirming their own bias all the time. For those seeking to challenge their beliefs, you get exposed to all kinds of things. For instance I get lots of pro-Christian content but also athiest content.

My experience is I’ve found things most that changed my mind. It’s been instrumental in helping my mental health in the last 2 years and getting off of other social media. And lots of other people like me are worried about losing that community.

I understand this is only for govt employees, but I seem to remember Trump trying to outright ban it before I ever even downloaded it. It’s not unreasonable to be worried about it getting taken away completely.

Tiktok or no tiktok, we should always be suspicious of the governments motives. And the control of information and limiting interactions to keep us ignorant and happy in our own ecosystems is absolutely intentional and used against us.

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cunt_isnt_sexist t1_j0xdrkx wrote

Tiktok no, but FB and Twitter, yes. I work for a law firm that frequently has to access both of them for actual business needs, like contacting another company or joining a group that does communicate between multiple firms for litigation. It isn't the most ideal, but some small companies cannot afford larger programs to host chat/video meetings and do not have the IT staff in place to recommend better alternatives that are free.

Also, I'm IT within that firm and one thing that fails to be mentioned is how strict and monitored that stuff actually is these days. Lot of people will make comments about how "well my IT let's us do whatever we want". Sure. But that doesn't mean we don't know about it and we definitely wink wink, nudge nudge aren't capturing that traffic.

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Outlulz t1_j0xxlc3 wrote

What a brain dead take. Government is going to use what people want to use for communication. They want this information to be seen by as many eyes as possible.

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mahabraja t1_j0yr1d6 wrote

I'd imagine it seems braindead to anyone who wants their time on Facebook and Twitter. But I don't think you'd understand any of the names we call you.

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Outlulz t1_j0z3w0n wrote

They say smugly on a social media network.

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mahabraja t1_j10yvt8 wrote

So you look for credible news on Facebook, Twitter, and reddit? Wow, true genius at work right there. Reddit is purely for entertainment. I mean where else can we see just how stupid the average user is.

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Outlulz t1_j10zal6 wrote

News? We're talking about communications directly from government agencies unfiltered by any other source. Which you seem to have some problem with if it's not on a website or maybe an old timey radio broadcast or something.

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mahabraja t1_j110y8s wrote

Thars not news to you? Current events I. Your country as per your government is not news? You look for that on social media. Clearly you're a child.

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TheElderFish t1_j0xm8jc wrote

"Why would government agencies use the most popular social media app to try to reach constituents" is an interesting take.

What's "official" government supposed to be look like?

Take behavioral health services as an example, where the main philosophy for health promotion of services like suicide prevention, harm reduction, prevention and treatment, etc. is meeting people where they are at.

Sure, we can spend hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars trying to get people to come to us, or paper the city in outdated materials that no one will ever see.

Or we can encourage the use of government growing with the times and learning to use social media to promote services that our communities desperately need.

It's a valuable tool for encouraging community engagement, connecting people to opportunities where their voice matters, tables where they can advocate for their communities.

Feel free to present a more cost effective platform for engaging the community than social media and I'll implement it in my work tomorrow 🤣

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kgal1298 t1_j0xai1c wrote

True. The only accounts I would think are usefut are DOT accounts since they can report road closures in real time since at least in my state they definitely don't warn us any other way. I also like following USGS.

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thedrew t1_j0xmj1j wrote

Police Departments try to engage with citizens in this sort of way sometimes.

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Sea_Macaroon_6086 t1_j0yo32b wrote

Here's one example - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency uses social media to get news of food and product recalls out.

Because unless you work in the industry, you're not checking the CFIA website daily for news of recalls.

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Soylentgruen t1_j0xg7po wrote

TikTok is an intelligence asset, as are most open source platforms where people willfully divulge their locations and what they are doing.

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soldforaspaceship t1_j0xtyhq wrote

Honestly I have no social media apps on my work phone. I only have the apps I need for work. And I don't work for the government nor is there an unusual amount of confidentiality in what I do. I'm not privy to secrets or anything. I just think it's common sense to keep those separate.

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mishugashu t1_j0xyba7 wrote

Unless your job is to interface with social media, yes, I agree. No social media should be on a work device, much less a government device.

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sb_747 t1_j12a3nb wrote

You still need info from other agencies sometimes. And Twitter is unfortunately still very useful for that in a number of situations.

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mishugashu t1_j12nkkj wrote

That sounds like "interfacing with social media" to me, which would be exempt, as per my statement.

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nacholicious t1_j0x6ytg wrote

US three letter agencies have compliance from any US based social media both domestically or internationally, that's why they are OK with other social media

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serefina t1_j0xi9lp wrote

Government organizations have social media accounts, too.

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redditadmindumb87 t1_j0z9a4j wrote

If you banned social media apps on my govt issued electronics, I wouldn't be able to do my job.

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celebrityDick t1_j0wxmyx wrote

> All social media should be banned on these devices. > > Use it on your personal crap not your government issued crap!

But let's create multiple government agencies to police these bans

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Maindric t1_j0wzuht wrote

I mean, I get it, but it is the only way I can talk with my wife or anyone else outside of the work center on an as needed basis. So let's continue to just blocks the shady API calls. Also, it prevents PR personnel from doing their jobs if they're blocked.

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kittenpantzen t1_j0x1vp0 wrote

Is texting from your personal phone not an option? Or sending an email?

Edit: not being snarky. When I worked for my state govt in a different state, we were not allowed to use social media on state-provided devices, but nobody gaf what you did with your personal item as long as it wasn't something like taking photos of records or watching porn in the office or someshit.

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Maindric t1_j0xoggw wrote

Not when you work in a scif.

Edit: Email sometimes works except for attachments. Also, if you need a timely response email isn't super useful.

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kittenpantzen t1_j0xs0vl wrote

If you work in a scif, that is all the more reason why your government-issued device shouldn't have any non-gov-approved apps on it.

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Maindric t1_j0zd3hu wrote

Certain social media websites are approved, some are blocked. I only have it open for messenger and nothing else. Certainly a lot easier for my wife to get a hold of me than the one uncleared phone on a podium sending someone else to find me. There are strict rules on what we can and can't do. For example, webcams and microphones are hardware removed, USB ports are disabled. In other words, there is no chance of video or audio leaking out.

Also, 100% of executables are blocked as well, so no downloading even approved applications outside of the government package manager. When you're stuck in there for 12 hours, including your breaks, it helps a little as well.

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kittenpantzen t1_j0zm2ts wrote

That sounds more reasonable. And, I would assume that your messages are logged and at a minimum, spot audited. It still surprises me that they would let you use something like Messenger, where the company also has an archive of all messages sent/received.

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