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TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

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Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#141

Post by npx13 »

ethbr0 wrote: post #135
yibg wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d rather have a generally applicable law in place. If we think massive data collection shouldn’t be allowed then ban that.

It feels like debate is a generation behind practice here. The greatest danger isn't from data collection, but from algorithmic recommendation. The data collection horse is out of the barn, has legitimate uses, and is an incredibly thorny issue to legislate appropriately. And will be adjusted for the next 20+ years. What needs to be done now is to say that (1) at a certain user count ("too big to democratically ignor…

Completely agree. Just like we have financial audits for a reason, we also need some form of algorithm audit process. Present day algorithms optimised for engagement and ad revenue growth are a clear and present danger to democracy as we have known it.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#142

Post by duxup »

dymk wrote: post #124
duxup wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me an executive order doomed to fail in the courts really isn't a real attempt.

Pray tell what a real attempt looks like to you?

Legislation, a department taking action within their legal powers.

In the US it really does matter how you do things. Just the whim of the president is not enough for it to happen.

Trump had no legal basis for his order. He liked to act like he was doing things with grand strokes, many of them were doomed to fail. I'm not convinced that he or those around him even cared if they did or not.

I don't think you can read much into an amateur hour / foolish attempt.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#143

Post by duxup »

seneca wrote: post #130
duxup wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me an executive order doomed to fail in the courts really isn't a real attempt.

The possibility of failure is inherently involved in "attempting". Otherwise it's just "doing".

The failure was known the moment Trump took his action. We're talking about a guy who I don't know if he really even cared if it was legal / carried out or not.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#144

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 »

robbedpeter wrote: post #5

It's not unclear at all. It's Chinese data harvesting software. They'll do token public appeasement to avoid negative pressure, but every feature in the app is designed to collect biometrics and behavioral data. China is not a good faith operator. Given the data needed to influence public opinion and voting, they will engage in manipulation favorable to their interests. That alone is sufficient to run tiktok at a los…

Thank you for mentioning this.

My personal pet theory about the recent rise in various 'challenges' is effectively weaponization of this particular medium in an attempt at social manipulation. It is all fun games now, but as recent 'gun challenge' shows, it can be easily turned into mayhem.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#145

Post by Etheryte »

GordonS wrote: post #105
Etheryte wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm all ears if you have any suggestions, so far I haven't seen a plausible explanation though.

Could be as simple as one time you forgot to use the VPN.

While this would make sense in a different setup, as I already elaborated under a different comment, this occurred right after I installed the app, not after extended use.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#146

Post by varispeed »

robbedpeter wrote: post #5

It's not unclear at all. It's Chinese data harvesting software. They'll do token public appeasement to avoid negative pressure, but every feature in the app is designed to collect biometrics and behavioral data. China is not a good faith operator. Given the data needed to influence public opinion and voting, they will engage in manipulation favorable to their interests. That alone is sufficient to run tiktok at a los…

No post body was provided.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#147

Post by Etheryte »

davidjfelix wrote: post #129
Etheryte wrote: post #36

One thing that I found very interesting when I looked into what TikTok does: it's scary good at aggregating data about you. I live in a foreign country, my phone's network is behind a VPN to a different foreign country and I gave the app no extra permissions, yet somehow I still got recommended content from the country where I was born. Since it's a small country there's no way that's a coincidence. I'm both intrigue…

It's pretty easy to derive longitude with some accuracy simply from active hours. Combine that with population densities and your guesses might get closer, combine that with how long you dwell on some videos or what videos you like and you get closer. Your Opsec isn't as good as you think, it's just nobody has been watching. If you combine statistical guesswork across hundreds of vectors its very easy to narrow your…

This argument doesn't really hold up to any scrutiny, by the longitude and active hours logic, the app should've figured out the country that I'm in, not where I was born. This was also on first startup, not after extended use.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#148

Post by varispeed »

cm2012 wrote: post #24
robbedpeter wrote: post #5

It's not unclear at all. It's Chinese data harvesting software. They'll do token public appeasement to avoid negative pressure, but every feature in the app is designed to collect biometrics and behavioral data. China is not a good faith operator. Given the data needed to influence public opinion and voting, they will engage in manipulation favorable to their interests. That alone is sufficient to run tiktok at a los…

TikTok should be banned in the US. China banned all of our homegrown social networks, its pretty standard international precedent to ban theirs, given the security risks.

Not only that. You can't operate an online store in China, but Chinese sellers can sell good to Europe or the US. It's baffling why this lack of reciprocity is allowed.

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#149

Post by Spellman »

cloutchaser wrote: post #13
maxehmookau wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A really strange fundraising page too that claims to be non-partisan but quotes three different far-right hacks.

I'm really curious, can you name someone who you think is just "right"? Like who isn't "far-right" in your opinion?

David Frum

Liz Cheney

Mitt Romney

David French

Reason media (Libertarian)

Andrew Sullivan

These all tend to fall under the more 80s/90s Neoconservative or Liberalism banner instead of the more aggressive New Right

Re: TikTok shares your data more than any other app and it’s unclear where it goes

#150

Post by ketzo »

Ekaros wrote: post #90
saas_sam wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every tech company executive in the USA is not required to operate as an agent for one political party by threat of being disappeared. Our entire internet is not locked down to prevent political dissidents from sharing their views. Our government doesn't pay to flood our social media networks with astroturfing to create the illusion of popular support for its policies. These things add a more serious tone to the conv…

No, but they intelligence agencies do the same stuff. And private hidden funders of politicians do the astroturfing... I don't really see much difference if it done by government or people who pay the politicians running the government.

I think it's hugely disingenuous, to the point of bad faith, to pretend there's not a massive difference between the internet in the U.S. and in China.
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