Summary

Americans are posting videos about 3D-printed guns on the Chinese video app RedNote, despite the content being illegal in China.

While some users are uncomfortable with the topic, others see it as an opportunity for cultural exchange.

The future of TikTok remains uncertain as the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the ban.

  • @yamper
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    31 hour ago

    look, this content isn’t getting censored! it must be because rednote is Good, not that it didn’t have the english speaking moderation resources

  • @IndustryStandard
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    239 hours ago

    3D printed guns are a meme. Most of them require parts of functional guns such as the barrels, And they require regular ammunition.

    • @chiliedogg
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      353 minutes ago

      The part you can easily print, however, is the receiver.

      The receiver is the part that’s legally a firearm. While I think it’s neat I can customize my firearms, I do acknowledge that someone who is prohibited from owning a gun can very easily print a receiver and order the rest of the parts from Palmetto State Armory to get a perfectly-functional firearm without any background check being performed.

      I also don’t know the solution to the problem though. As 3D printing, desktop CNC, and other forms of DIY manufacturing improve in quality and decrease in price, it will be very hard to regulate home-brew weapons.

    • @[email protected]
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      178 hours ago

      Electro chemical machining can make a barrel.

      But, idk how any of what you said makes them a “meme”. You can buy a barrel online for cheap, also ammo, and I don’t have to go through a government check. That’s what a lot of these people want to avoid.

      • @[email protected]
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        168 hours ago

        In most countries, the barrel or other pressures bearing parts are the regulated piece. We are the weird ones for regulating receivers instead.

        • @[email protected]
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          28 hours ago

          Well, the article references Americans, I’m American, so okay?

          Europeans can also get guns mailed to their front door, are we just comparing gun laws?

          • @[email protected]
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            36 hours ago

            Europeans can also get guns mailed to their front door, are we just comparing gun laws?

            I mean, there’s a lot of context surrounding licensing and pre-approval to get that mail order heater in Europe. Local laws vary, yadda yadda

            And if you collect old guns and have a C&R license, you too can get guns delivered to your door in America.

            • @RaoulDook
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              12 hours ago

              In the UK you can also purchase a pistol with bitcoin on the dark web and have it delivered to a train station locker, but that is not legal at all.

            • @[email protected]
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              06 hours ago

              Oh yeah, 1000%. Also, with a C&R license, you’re not legally purchasing a “firearm”. It’s a curio or relic, but yeah, point still stands.

              Also, none of that has anything to do with the discussion at hand, which was sorta my point.

          • @IndustryStandard
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            28 hours ago

            It mentions sending videos about them to China. Where most of those videos are useless because the parts and ammo are not sold there.

              • @IndustryStandard
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                07 hours ago

                Okay so a lot of work to create the barrel, but the gun still takes 9mm ammunition. And if someone in China can get their hands on ammo they can get their hands on a gun.

                • @[email protected]
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                  27 hours ago

                  Okay? I don’t know what you’re arguing here? 3D printed guns aren’t a meme. Some don’t require any regulated parts. I don’t care if the average Chinese person can or will get their hands on one. You can just say you didn’t know what you were talking about when you said 3d printed guns are a “meme”. It’s not that deep

      • @IndustryStandard
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        -28 hours ago

        Barrels require rifling. It is fairly difficult to manually create the groove as it requires a lot of tooling. Not impossible. But not something people will do to create a single gun. Only the barrel would be more work than assembling the rest of the gun.

        Purchased ammo and other parts are specific to the US. 3D printed guns give people the illusion that they can make the entire gun using a 3d printer and off the shelf consumer parts. But most 3d printed guns are made by buying all the required metal parts for guns and printing out the exterior.

    • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️
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      8 hours ago

      You could print an entire functional gun if you only intend for it to be fired successfully once. And no shit they require ammo. Ammo is easier to source than filament for the 3D printer. I can’t walk into a Walmart and buy printer filament; but I can get ammo.

    • Flying Squid
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      3011 hours ago

      I have been told that China pushes NO PROPAGNADA on RedNote because they have a NO POLITICS policy.

      And the person who told me that did not see the issue.

    • @Breezy
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      2312 hours ago

      Now do &%$!@$+×# &%;%$.

      Second time I’ve seen this in a day. Wow what are you guys talking about?

    • Estebiu
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      -259 hours ago

      Idk why you americans think that you have soo muuuch freedom, lol. You can talk about Tiananmen square, sure, and that somehow suffice to make y’all think you live in an utopian country with unlimited freedom, lol

      • @BetaBlake
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        89 hours ago

        Not sure who is saying any of that, seems like you’re jumping to conclusions that no one has said

        Also as a southern American I’d appreciate it if you stopped saying y’all, it’s cultural appropriation

        • Skeezix
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          11 hour ago

          Every language has been culturally appropriated from another.

        • Estebiu
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          02 hours ago

          Idk, that was just the vibe i was feeling. And since when “y’all” is cultural appropriation? Or are you ironic? I’m not sure

        • @[email protected]
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          38 hours ago

          I’m with you in the first half, but complaining about using the word y’all and calling it cultural appropriation is a strange take to me. Maybe it’s because I don’t believe in cultural appropriation (in the general sense of the term). Culture that’s shared is strengthened and grows. Rome became the strongest civilization in history on the basis of incorporating foreign people into their society (against their will most often) and through long distance trading. I’m less educated on dynasties in the far east and how they functioned because there’s far less documentation of their history, but that kinda proves my point.

          This seems like a super long response to just a throwaway comment, but I’ve been really thinking lately about what it means to be human and I think I’ve narrowed it down to one word. Sharing. Sharing information, culture, land, resources, experience, fortune, pain, ideas…etc. So maybe I helped convince you to share aspects of your culture or not, but I at least wanted to try.

  • @TommySoda
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    18 hours ago

    As much as I hate people going to an even more security disaster of an app, the amount of “fuck you” energy I’ve been seeing from everyone that’s moved over there is so god damn funny.

    • Sabata
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      88 hours ago

      If it keeps going maybe they will start roaching out of Facebook and Twitter too. The network effect works both ways.

      • @[email protected]
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        83 hours ago

        Oh for anyone not actually on Tiktok, there is a huge movement to delete their FB and other Meta accounts on Sunday… we will see how huge it really ends up being.

  • AItoothbrush
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    2614 hours ago

    If youre an anarchist for fucks sake use a federated platfrom

    • @[email protected]
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      2817 hours ago

      What do you mean? China absolutely loves this. What they won’t like is photos of Tiananmen Square, or people being dragged to china’s concentration camps… sorry, reeducation facilities.

      • @[email protected]
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        -812 hours ago

        Tiananmen Square is like, a huge tourist attraction and plaza near their equivalent of the White House and other important government complexes I’m sure they’ve seen a ton of photos of it. They hold national events there.

        • Flying Squid
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          1611 hours ago

          You know that’s not what they mean.

          But sure, you go ahead and post this “tourist” photo on RedNote and see what happens. Please do report back to us.

          • @[email protected]
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            14 hours ago

            See, this is why I think you and I would actually get along if you would stop moderating my comments about slaughtering the billionaires.

            • Flying Squid
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              4 hours ago

              No, I don’t think we would get along since you both blame me in specific for something the entire moderation team across the entire server has been told to do and for upholding Lemmy.world’s Terms of Service so that illegal things to say in The Netherlands don’t get the server shut down.

              Sorry, I don’t get along with people who blame me for things like that, but I wonder what you would say if I died tomorrow and those comments still got moderated (since they absolutely would)? Blame my ghost?

              • @[email protected]
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                14 hours ago

                Are you sure it’s not hosted by Hetzner, in Germany?

                And, there are two sides sweetie, for or against the ruling class. Tolerance and, “just doing my job,” is “for,” regardless of your opinions.

                When the Nazi-hammer comes down on the United States, will you be able to tell your grandfather that you did everything in your own limited power to stop them? Hmmm.

                • Flying Squid
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                  4 hours ago

                  And, there are two sides sweetie, for or against the ruling class.

                  I see you’re still enjoying your white and heterosexual privilege.

                  When are you going to give me that legitimate email address?

            • Flying Squid
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              411 hours ago

              If that’s all he was, please post it there and tell us what happens.

            • @[email protected]
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              111 hours ago

              Eh, not public ally. They would have cuffed him, put him in the back of a cruiser upside down without a seatbelt on and left him to suffocate or something.

  • kate
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    1715 hours ago

    are 3D printed guns legal in the US?

    • @mipadaitu
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      1310 hours ago

      Home made guns are legal (for the most part) as long as you are making them for yourself.

      Until very recently, making a decent gun took a lot of skill, and was pretty dangerous if something wasn’t done correctly.

      Part of the issue with gun laws is that gun parts, by themselves, are fairly unregulated. You can buy a gun barrel off the Internet with zero paperwork. You can buy optics, grips, springs, pins, etc without any regulations.

      So you can print a gun frame, then buy everything else online, and it’s all perfectly legal… In most states… If you don’t resell, or do anything illegal with it.

      The main catch is, if you can legally buy a gun, you can legally make that same gun.

      If that gun would be illegal to buy, it’s also illegal to make (full auto, suppressed, high capacity, etc.) but the biggest problem is, with the rise of CNC machines, and high quality 3d printing, how would anyone know?

      • @[email protected]
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        49 hours ago

        I used to lurk in s homemade gun forum back in the 00’s. My favorite was the yooper assault rifle made out of 2x4’s and hydraulic tubing with a grease nipple primer holder.

      • kate
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        110 hours ago

        Yes, that’s my concern too. I’m in the UK and I have friends with 3D printers. Of course I know they wouldn’t 3D print a gun, but I’d also never know if they did and it’s a much bigger issue here

      • @Takumidesh
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        9 hours ago

        3d printing guns is a gimmick. You have been able to buy 80% lowers for years and years, it requires as much effort as setting up and dialing in a 3d printer, and the end result is a real gun made of real steel that will last forever.

        • @[email protected]
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          18 hours ago

          It’s also more expensive. The use-case for 3d printed guns isn’t as an heirloom that you’re passing down. It’s either a niche hobby, a way of doing something illegal, or you’re running an insurgency(which I guess falls into the illegal territory lol) in which case, you don’t need something that’ll last forever, you need a tool for a job.

      • Flying Squid
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        9 hours ago

        Until very recently, making a decent gun took a lot of skill, and was pretty dangerous if something wasn’t done correctly.

        We haven’t seen a lot of 3D printed gun usage yet, but I would bet that they aren’t exactly safe to use themselves. We’re talking about things that are generally made with milling to a much greater precision than your standard 3D printer is capable and which contain something explosive.

        It might work for its intended use or it might blow up in your hand. The old fashioned ‘Saturday Night Specials’ that people would make in their garages had that issue.

        (Also, I’d be really careful where you downloaded the plans from, because unless you know the source, it might be designed to blow up in your hand.)

        • @[email protected]
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          44 hours ago

          We’ve seen plenty of usage, and they’re perfectly safe to use. The important parts are the exact same steel parts used in non-3D-printed firearms. Please stop commenting on matters you don’t know about.

          • Flying Squid
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            -14 hours ago

            Except for all the 3D printed guns that don’t use a bunch of steel parts, just a firing pin. You know, like the original one? The Liberator?

            But then I wouldn’t know anything about that matter otherwise I wouldn’t know that the Liberator is a myth like Australia and homosexuals.

        • @[email protected]
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          79 hours ago

          We have seen a lot of 3D gun usage. Not sure why you think we haven’t or what scale constitutes “a lot”. But, yeah. They’re out there. I have one, and they’re only improving. Here’s an entire PDW.

          • Flying Squid
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            9 hours ago

            Well for one thing, as far as I know, we have no way to collect statistics on them right now because they aren’t being used very much. They learned the dangers of the old Saturday Night Special thing because they kept being used in crimes.

            Not that I’m suggesting these should be used in crimes.

            • @[email protected]
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              29 hours ago

              The FGC-9 is being used a lot though? Myanmar’s rebels have been using them for at least three years.

              Granted that most of that use is broad use, as opposed to long use. As is customary for insurgents in seeking more robust weapons.

              Beyond that, it’s really hard to collect statistics on safety of even one particular model of 3D printed gun thanks to the inherent variations between builds: different filament plastics will yield differently, as will different layer orientations.

              • Flying Squid
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                09 hours ago

                Beyond that, it’s really hard to collect statistics on safety of even one particular model of 3D printed gun thanks to the inherent variations between builds: different filament plastics will yield differently, as will different layer orientations.

                But that’s really my point about not trusting them. Because we’re not talking about precision milling of high-grade alloys here.

                I mean you do you, but I think firearm safety is kind of a big deal.

                • @[email protected]
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                  38 hours ago

                  Oh for sure, don’t go buying critical/expensive 3D printed shit unless you know or trust the printer, but to me that’s a far broader category than just gunstuff.

            • @[email protected]
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              19 hours ago

              Well, that, I suppose, or the fact that they’re almost untraceable so we don’t have selling/download stats on them as you’re not legally allowed to sell your own manufactured firearms, and they haven’t been used in crime much so we don’t have crime stats. What statistics are you after?

              • Flying Squid
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                -29 hours ago

                Ones regarding their safety and reliability. What statistics do you think I would be after?

                • @[email protected]
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                  49 hours ago

                  I’m not trying to be snarky, I can see how it might come off this way. I’m just having a discussion.

                  Anyway, a lot of that sorta testing is inside the files you download/in blogs of the file makers. You are correct though, there are no studies.

                  Now, it does definitely get into “he said, she said” type territory there however, I would find it somewhat telling that you don’t hear about people being hospitalized after messing around with them. Someone would have posted it somewhere, and those files wouldn’t be circulated.

                  Now, my opinion on that is based on as much data as “3D printed guns are dangerous and blow up” is. So anecdotal for sure.

                  You just might be surprised how well these things actually function, and yes, I’ve had multiple. Honestly, it’s an interesting rabbit hole to go down just to come to grips on how simple(or not) firearms actually are.

    • @Raiderkev
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      614 hours ago

      Some places yes, some no. Mostly yes however.

  • no banana
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    2218 hours ago

    This timeline is quite a ride

  • @cm0002
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    818 hours ago

    Huh. Didn’t expect that lol

  • @GeneralEmergency
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    10 hours ago

    Americans are posting videos about 3D-printed guns

    Cultural Exchange

    It’s always cute seeing yanks try and act like one of the big boy countries, talking about their “Culture”

    • @BetaBlake
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      109 hours ago

      Says the guy who talks exclusively about American culture.

    • Makhno
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      1410 hours ago

      It’s always cute seeing yanks try and act like one of the big boy countries, talking about their “Culture”

      Lmao please share which “superior culture” you’re from

      • @GeneralEmergency
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        -37 hours ago

        One that doesn’t feel the need to defend itself from petty bullshit.

    • @tamal3
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      10 hours ago

      Edit: I really need to read full articles before responding. Sorry.