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As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

economist.com

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Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#51

Post by foverzar »

jjcon wrote: post #18
drno123 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, since in the last 20 years US invaded Iraq, Afganistan and Lybia while PRC invaded 0 countries.

"Invaded" language and situational nuance aside, that has everything to do with superpower status and nothing to do with being authoritarian...

I don't really get why people imply that these two are somehow disconnected.

A global superpower that systematically employs military agression to impose its will somewhere far away around the globe is definitely authoritarian. Even if it had managed to create a convincing brand of democracy benifiting only, like, 5% of global population.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#52

Post by rossdavidh »

voisin wrote: post #20

So here’s my tinfoil hat theory. When I watch Tik Tok (and I am fully aware my feed is different from others), I become genuinely happy. I see people singing, creating music together via duets, showing homesteading skills, teaching things they know, telling funny jokes, etc. I never see dangerous challenges, though I am not a teen. Here’s the tinfoil hat theory: Tik Tok is what social media was meant to be, but unlik…

I agree that my experience with FB/Twitter vs. TikTok is as you describe. I'm not sure that our political leadership understands how social media work well enough to see what you're describing.

I do think that they are angsty about a foreign government having control over a major social network. Imagine if a partially Chinese-owned company had to make the call of whether or not to ban the account of a sitting US President, for example. Plus, I have zero doubt that the US government requires Microsoft, Facebook, and other US tech companies to give them access to data in extremis, and there's no reason for the US gov't to expect China not to.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#53

Post by airza »

crmd wrote: post #28

85% of US teenagers use tiktok. That's 85% of the future generation of US senators, Cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices, of police chiefs, civil rights activists, mayors, CEOs, etc. in their bedrooms right now consuming content curated by, and filming their lives and that of their friends, and uploading the video to data centers, that are controlled by a strategic adversary of the United States. This is, to p…

The invisible comparison you seem to be making here is to Facebook or Twitter, companies which also do not seem to have my best interests in mind.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#54

Post by nindalf »

tonymet wrote: post #5

they mention data harvesting and influencing public relations as risks, and both are worrisome . another more subtle but pernicious concern is the trivialization of entertainment (which started from a low bar ) tiktok is addictive and much of the content is low bar , slapstick and sexually suggestive thirst traps . there may be a good share of high quality content , but we all know time spent is on garbage. our grand…

This comment follows a pattern common in other comments criticising TikTok - the person says “this content I saw isn’t very good. Why would anyone spend their time watching X?”

> sexually suggestive thirst traps

Not realising that only they (and people with similar tastes) are seeing X. And it says more about them than it does about TikTok.

There’s plenty of room for thoughtful critique of TikTok and it’s current/potential impact on society - but this ain’t it. The original article by the economist is much closer.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#55

Post by wslh »

crmd wrote: post #28

85% of US teenagers use tiktok. That's 85% of the future generation of US senators, Cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices, of police chiefs, civil rights activists, mayors, CEOs, etc. in their bedrooms right now consuming content curated by, and filming their lives and that of their friends, and uploading the video to data centers, that are controlled by a strategic adversary of the United States. This is, to p…

In a scifi tone, it is interesting to extrapolate the personality of teenagers once they take roles in future governments.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#56

Post by butterfly771 »

collegeburner wrote: post #8
tonymet wrote: post #5

they mention data harvesting and influencing public relations as risks, and both are worrisome . another more subtle but pernicious concern is the trivialization of entertainment (which started from a low bar ) tiktok is addictive and much of the content is low bar , slapstick and sexually suggestive thirst traps . there may be a good share of high quality content , but we all know time spent is on garbage. our grand…

fr it's scary how i watch ppl on it, they're like zombies. and yeah like half that shit is just girls "dancing" (shaking jiggly parts) in short clothes, like i mean that's fine but watching it all the time isn't healthy. look at how much is under #fakebody which is basically all people in short clothing trying not to get banned. and yeah probably you can make it show interesting stuff but it plays to people's weaker…

Why can you talk about stealing technology so openly?

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#57

Post by mathverse »

I am really annoyed at how we (EU) and the US treat chinese companies and citizens.

We (europeans and americans) cant do really anything in China, we have essentially no rights and cant really conduct business. Unlike chinese who are pretty much granted all of that when they want to immigrate or conduct business in EU/US.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#58

Post by voisin »

mantas wrote: post #40
voisin wrote: post #20

So here’s my tinfoil hat theory. When I watch Tik Tok (and I am fully aware my feed is different from others), I become genuinely happy. I see people singing, creating music together via duets, showing homesteading skills, teaching things they know, telling funny jokes, etc. I never see dangerous challenges, though I am not a teen. Here’s the tinfoil hat theory: Tik Tok is what social media was meant to be, but unlik…

US social media amplifies human nature which isn't pretty. Meanwhile CCP's love to building facades of utopias produces this... Utopias are nice till you step out of line and it becomes dystopia, eh?

> US social media amplifies human nature which isn't pretty.

If you only consume western media and social networks, this is certainly the conclusion you are led to. But if you observe your surroundings with your own eyes, my experience is that there is a stark contrast with the above quote. I have travelled continuously all over the west for the last five years and I have found people to be kind, generous, and friendly.

There’s money and power in dividing people. I don’t think we are as divided as the news media and social networks would have us believe.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#59

Post by throwaway4good »

crmd wrote: post #28

85% of US teenagers use tiktok. That's 85% of the future generation of US senators, Cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices, of police chiefs, civil rights activists, mayors, CEOs, etc. in their bedrooms right now consuming content curated by, and filming their lives and that of their friends, and uploading the video to data centers, that are controlled by a strategic adversary of the United States. This is, to p…

TikTok's data centers are in the US.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#60

Post by dijit »

crmd wrote: post #28

85% of US teenagers use tiktok. That's 85% of the future generation of US senators, Cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices, of police chiefs, civil rights activists, mayors, CEOs, etc. in their bedrooms right now consuming content curated by, and filming their lives and that of their friends, and uploading the video to data centers, that are controlled by a strategic adversary of the United States. This is, to p…

This might sound like a fallacious argument; but do you think the same about Europeans who consume almost exclusively US media and interact almost exclusively with US social media platforms?

The US (famously) does not have Allies, only temporary allegiances.

If you're discussing ties to government, Twitter and Facebook have members on their boards publicly who are sitting and/or former members of government including, at least in facebooks case: Robert Kimmitt (who was United States Ambassador to Germany from 1991 to 1993, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1989 to 1991, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 1985 to 1987, and National Security Council Executive Secretary and General Counsel from 1983 to 1985).

Is it different rules for us in Europe? or are you suggesting that we should never have allowed this to happen?

tl;dr: Why is US/China much different from EU/US or US/Japan (whom also makes a resounding impact on our technology and strongly affects our culture in the west).

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