Is banning a hyper-popular and addictive social network even feasible? A ban on #Tiktok is akin to a ban on Star Wars for many people of a certain age. And people of this age are also amongst the most tech-savvy! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65042762
@chaitanyavarsha I know it was banned, but did people in their teens and 20s bypass the ban easily? Did they use VPNs? Did they set their app store location to a different country? Or did they even get a new device that wasn't at the mercy of their phone network? There are ways around it and young people will find a way.
@chaitanyavarsha I don't know, I'm divided on this. Part of me thinks not, and another part of me thinks people will actively defy the ban because people don't like being told what to do.
@gpowerf I have seen this happen before in different countries. For example, in Iran social networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc. have been blocked for many years. (As far as I know, Instagram is not blocked.) This does not appear to have stopped anyone from using it. Blocking things on the Internet is just not technically feasiable; you can try, but it's like trying to stop a river with your hands. They can perhaps remove TikTok from Google Play.
@ben this is exactly my point. You can make accessing a social network illegal, but that will never stop people from accessing it.
@gpowerf You're overestimating the tech-savviness there I think.
@gpowerf
It happened in India ... I don't know what the reasoning could have been, but it is possible.
There sure are risks if the Chinese Gov is involved somehow.