iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

In the meantime -- making the use of my daily Research API credits while I still can.

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Now that I've done my best impression of a lawyer, I want to offer a few deeper considerations as a researcher: 1️⃣TikTok’s “U.S. company” framing 2️⃣The illusion of free speech neutrality 3️⃣The global power struggle over platforms This case is about way more than TikTok. 🧵

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As expected, TikTok filed their emergency injunction yesterday. With the disclaimer that I am not a lawyer, here's what they're arguing -- a thread:🧵 www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...

supremecourt.gov

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Alex Turvy @alexturvy.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Met with Zuckerberg within the last two weeks, now this. Feels like everything about this TikTok ban might hinge on this meeting.

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A friend (h/t @kjfernelius.bsky.social ) sent me @bigblackjacobin.bsky.social 's (excellent) piece written in response to this -- sharing in case anyone hasn't seen this like me. I actually think both are right, but Ongweso is making a deeper and more critical point. substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

The phony comforts of useful idiots

On Casey Newton and the shallowness of anti-skepticism.

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Alex Turvy @alexturvy.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Factors the court will weigh in deciding whether to grant it: 1️⃣ Irreparable harm: Would TikTok suffer damage that can’t be undone? 2️⃣ Likelihood of success: Does TikTok have a strong case? 3️⃣ Public policy interests: What’s best for the public? TikTok will likely lean heavily on irreparable harm.

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Alex Turvy @alexturvy.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Here we go - injunction filed, now we wait and see if they grant it.

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Alex Turvy @alexturvy.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Great, simple framing from @caseynewton.bsky.social: "The first camp, which I associate with the external critics, holds that AI is fake and sucks. The second camp, which I associate more with the internal critics, believes that AI is real and dangerous." www.platformer.news/ai-skeptics-...

platformer.news

The phony comforts of AI skepticism

It’s fun to say that artificial intelligence is fake and sucks — but evidence is mounting that it’s real and dangerous

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Alex Turvy @alexturvy.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

For...lots of reasons, it's time for me to start actually figuring out how I want to use the TikTok Research API that I got access to a while back but haven't yet used. If you've spent time with it (I've seen the excellent @icsjournal.bsky.social audit article), DM me / reply, I'd love to chat.

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Discords and Telegrams thrive on trust, intimacy, and controlled access—classic dark forest spaces. A splintered or VPN-driven TikTok could invert that: a semi-public, semi-hidden arena where creativity still chases reach but under new constraints. What cultural forms emerge here?

For TikTok researchers, this feels like a stressful moment—potential bans, disrupted projects, uncertain futures. But it’s also a moment of opportunity. Disruption opens new angles and questions. Here are 5 provocations to spark fresh insights in a rapidly changing landscape. 🧵

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SCENARIO 4 THREAD - THE BAN TAKES EFFECT: 1/4 Precedent setting: Enforcing a ban on TikTok would mark the first time Congress has prohibited a specific platform (as far as I know, not a legal expert), raising questions about future thresholds for national security risks.

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SCENARIO 3 THREAD – SUPREME COURT INTERVENTION: 1/6 TikTok's Legal Battle: TikTok plans to appeal to the Supreme Court and seek a "stay" to halt enforcement during the appeal process. If granted, this stay would allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. until a final decision is made.

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SCENARIO 2 THREAD - THE TRUMP WORKAROUND: 1/6: For me -- feels like a classic case of the 'I'd like to see ol Donny Trump wriggle out of THIS jam' dynamic.

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SCENARIO 1 THREAD - THE DIVESTMENT: 1/5 ByteDance divests U.S. ops. But here's the twist: Chinese regulations prohibit the sale of TikTok's proprietary algorithm. Any buyer would acquire the platform's basic infrastructure and IP only -- what is TikTok without its ostensibly defining technology?

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TikTok Faces U.S. Ban After Appeals Court Denies Bid to Overturn New Law

Key TikTok scenarios after court upholds ban: 1️⃣ ByteDance divests to U.S. buyer 2️⃣ Trump finds administrative workaround 3️⃣ Supreme Court intervenes 4️⃣ Ban takes effect 5️⃣ Am I missing another path? Each path holds strange complications. 🧵 www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/b...

nytimes.com

The law will ban the video app in the United States by Jan. 19 if its owner, ByteDance, does not sell it to a non-Chinese company.

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What if we saw platform research APIs not as flawed tools but as perfect embodiments of platform logic: appearing to offer transparency while carefully managing what can be known and how. Meta-level platform governance.

Maybe APIs aren't really research tools - they're organizational artifacts showing how platforms imagine (or want us to imagine) themselves. This TikTok API audit is fascinating when read as platform self-presentation.

As platforms try to be more "transparent" through research APIs, this TikTok audit in @icsjournal.bsky.social shows how that very transparency can obscure reality. Makes me wonder if API access is sometimes worse than no access - false confidence vs known limitations.

Alex Turvy @alexturvy.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Interesting timing detail: Study found major improvements in API data quality after July 2024. But changes weren't announced - researchers using API data from before/after this period might see dramatic shifts in metrics and mistake them for organic platform changes.

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Really smart. Maybe I’m naive, but this feels like the first platform in a long time with genuinely novel characteristics. The decentralization part is fascinating of course - but I’m more compelled by the custom feeds and starter packs (though Twitter had lists).