Everyone saying “it doesn’t matter that TikTok is based in China” is actually just saying that they don’t have any real understanding of how the CCP runs shit in China. It matters very fucking much that the government under which TikTok was created was the CCP.
this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2024
117 points (92.1% liked)
Technology
3499 readers
263 users here now
Which posts fit here?
Anything that is at least tangentially connected to the technology, social media platforms, informational technologies and tech policy.
Post guidelines
[Opinion] prefix
Opinion (op-ed) articles must use [Opinion] prefix before the title.
Rules
1. English only
Title and associated content has to be in English.
2. Use original link
Post URL should be the original link to the article (even if paywalled) and archived copies left in the body. It allows avoiding duplicate posts when cross-posting.
3. Respectful communication
All communication has to be respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences.
4. Inclusivity
Everyone is welcome here regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
5. Ad hominem attacks
Any kind of personal attacks are expressly forbidden. If you can't argue your position without attacking a person's character, you already lost the argument.
6. Off-topic tangents
Stay on topic. Keep it relevant.
7. Instance rules may apply
If something is not covered by community rules, but are against lemmy.zip instance rules, they will be enforced.
Companion communities
[email protected]
[email protected]
Icon attribution | Banner attribution
If someone is interested in moderating this community, message @[email protected].
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
The vast majority of people using TiKTok have no idea what the CCP even is.
And hey, maybe they could be educated about that!
But that education isn't going to happen on TikTok under the control of the CCP.
I’d wager that most people are familiar with Communist China.
Meanwhile we accept everything else manufactured in China.
Except, of course, affordable vehicles.
I would avoid Chinese phones, network gear, and other computer hardware as well.
Every bad thing about Tiktok is also true about Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
You're right. I hope you're not saying that in order to defend TikTok but rather to support banning Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram too.
I have to disagree, not every bad thing ...
You probably couldn’t reasonably sue a chinese company for mis-use
True but it's an order of magnitude worse on Tiktok. All of it.
why worse? It's just exchanging American spies with Chinese spies.. Both are bad, but Americans are worse
I wasn't talking about the spying. Even if no one was spying, Tiktok is still societal cancer.
And that its Chinese.
I feel like pointing fingers at China is kinda missing the point that we are not legislating collection of user data because it is also a major source of revenue for non-chinese software companies.
Yes, but China is strongly using this as a propaganda tool, e.g., by censoring any content that is not aligned with the CCP's 'official' narrative. I know that 'the West' does that also once in a while, but by far not to that extent. You can criticize the U.S. or the EU or any government on social media without consequences.
That said, I'd say it is irrelevant whether or not it is a source of revenue, may it be for Chinese or non-Chinese companies. I don't use these tools bc I don't want to be spied on 24/7. But that's just my opinion, there is a large clientel out there for such media.
[Edit typo.]
The fact that data collection isn't regulated enough is one thing. It being Chinese means its a security issue and propaganda platform.
I mean, American data collection is a security issue and propaganda platform too (I say as an American, BTW).
But muricaland propaganda is not Faschist and not a threat to nato security.
Yes it is. Republicans CONSTANTLY tow Russian propaganda lines and say directly fascist things. Republicans want to drop support of Ukraine, which directly puts all of Europe at risk.
Trump is LITERALLY QUOTING HITLER, but nooo, the US doesn't have a fascist propaganda problem... Fucking grow up and open your eyes. and also your ears, apparently.
Lawmaker Who Led TikTok Ban Bill Joins Private Surveillance Firm
Mike Gallagher pushed the bill to ban TikTok because China can "surveil its users." Now, he's resigning and joining an American surveillance firm Palantir.
Palantir
great name!
why i have a feeling that they pick this "hot topic" only to promote themselves in a really lazy way
So, the only solution is to not use it? Got it.
No. The only solution is to ban it to stop the idiots from using it, too. The problem cannot be solved individually, only collectively.
It will change who gets the data. Who would you rather have your data: US gov, or CCP?
For me its an easy choice; I dont tiktok.
Neither
Tik Tok and Meta and others must be sold to operate in the country I'm in.
It definitely matters. It is being use as a propaganda tool.
Propaganda for what?
@huginn
One example:
TikTok Facilitates CCP’s Arrest of Uyghurs in China
The Uyghur Times has documented at least 20 individuals who vanished after sharing videos criticizing the Chinese government on TikTok between 2021 and 2023.The International Version of TikTok has a long history of suspending or suppressing users who share content criticizing the Chinese government. That is why you don’t see Uyghur activists on this platform; that is why so many people don’t know what is happening to the Uyghur people.You may not care, but we Uyghurs are clear about one fact: TikTok is the genocidal arm of the Chinese government.
You'll find a large number of examples on how the CCP censors their web.
Ty for context
I thought tiktok wasn't available in China?
Do they mean douyin or was it them using tiktok?
Citing tbe article that "the International Version of TikTok has a long history of suspending or suppressing users who share content criticizing the Chinese government," it might refer to TikTok users outside China.
Yeah reading the article it seems like Douyin is where the people were disappearing and TikTok is where the videos were suppressed.
They're both owned by Bytedance out of Beijing so it's not really much of a distinction.
Authoritarian regimes often kidnap their own citizens in other countries, yes.
That's not really what we're talking about here though
Tautalogically that is totally tautological.