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As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

economist.com

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Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#191

Post by stjohnswarts »

stale2002 wrote: post #61
dqpb wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> TikTok is technically not a Chinese company I guess the economist has it wrong then: > As the first consumer-facing app from China to take off in the West, TikTok is a source of pride in Beijing. But the app’s Chinese ownership makes politicians elsewhere uneasy about its tightening grip on their citizens’ attention

The point being here is that the company ownership is setup in a complicate way, that is different than just being straight up controlled by china. As in, there are apparently sub companies, that are in the US, not in china, that makes it different.

If you are a major company in China you are controlled by the CCP. They may leave the day to day business to execs but they are 100% at CCP beck and call. Look at what happened to Jack when you go too far off script. CCP has full access to US Servers (yeah I know that TikTok "US" says all data is kept here.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#192

Post by wahnfrieden »

OJFord wrote: post #98
ok123456 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the content I get is original. The reality is, Facebook is where content goes to die.

How can you possibly know that? I'm not even saying it isn't, I just think it's basically unknowable.

you can simply look at the blatant content copying which does not attempt to hide it, across these platforms, and for that category see it easily

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#193

Post by ruined »

dijit wrote: post #60
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…

>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?

i'm not OP, but yes.

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

this should never have been allowed to happen.

the mass collection and storage of video, audio, location data, public and private messages, browsing history, topics of interest, sentiments and mood, social graphs, menstrual status, political leanings, and so on, is a travesty. it is an unprecedented and powerful invasion of personal privacy, and it's happening to every online adult and child around the world, and there is essentially no way to opt out, and no expectation that the collected data will ever be deleted.

if it only scares you when china does it, something's weird.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#194

Post by stjohnswarts »

aparticulate wrote: post #180
curious_cat_163 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope that the US doesn’t ban TikTok. That would be a very bad outcome for the concept of an open internet. I do think more regulation are likely in order. There are some very good arguments for not letting children under a certain age to be allowed on the social media platforms. However, the enforcement of those laws is spotty and is left to parental controls. What we need is an outbreak of social media literacy am…

>What we need is an outbreak of social media literacy among the youngest members of society. Like, this needs to be taught at school in first grade or something. I use TikTok loads and I'm completely onboard with the idea that it's extremely concerning for democracy. Nuanced education doesn't help any more than it would for say, healthy eating advocacy vs fast food industry. We need carrot and stick approaches.

Imagine getting downvoted for what you just said lol. HN people can't be so out of contact with children to think they will make complex political decisions. All they want to see are funny dance and cat videos. I remember when I was a tween and early teens. All I cared about was decent grades, baseball, my crush, and my computer side jobs. I wouldn't have cared if tiktok was based in Iran as long as it entertained me.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#195

Post by wahnfrieden »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #125
okasaki wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, abortion is legal in China[1], the last time a police officer killed someone was in 2019[2] and their incarceration rate is 5x lower[3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_China [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforc... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarcera...

> and their incarceration rate is 5x lower You should see our incarceration rate for Chinese Americans. > abortion is legal in China I'd have to say, between abortions being prohibited and abortions being mandatory, the mandatory abortions are significantly worse.

forced births cause deaths

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#196

Post by stjohnswarts »

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…

There are some very vile areas of tiktok with white supremacy and lgbqt+ hate and those are as easy to get to as dance videos of chinese algorithm designers see that you're watched one of those, or just randomly throw one up in front of you and see if you immediately kill it or watch it all the way through. This isn't rocket science level of propaganda/and brainwashing.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#197

Post by jimmytucson »

woodruffw wrote: post #140
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…

85% of US teenagers would be debased by the poor and foreign morals of James Joyce, if only we could get them to read Ulysses.

It’s possible that the first generations who read Ulysses were worse off than the ones before—who thought Ulysses was harmful—but still better than the generations now, who don’t read much at all. If today’s next generation spent their time reading literature that was considered obscene 100 years ago, I think we’d all agree they’d be better off than spending 3 hours a day scrolling.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#198

Post by bluehorseray »

winternett wrote: post #127
bluehorseray wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Umm people definitely don't consider posting on tiktok "labor" like you're suggesting. a) It's fun, and b) they're getting social status / minor celebrity status. Even if there was no chance of making any money I can guarantee you people would still try to grow a following. Posting tiktoks =/= working a 9-5 at Microsoft

There are quite different experiences outside of your own. Many people and businesses work on TikTok and every other social platform, there is a creator fund on pretty much every major platform out there. Millions of people work full time to find success on sites like TikTok, and almost every trending post is an ad for some sort of business, or for profit. Don't just lean on your own personal understanding and experi…

Fair. I guess I just don't think TikTok is misleading anyone into thinking once you hit x views, x likes, and x follows, you'll see an appropriate financial return. Maybe I'm wrong though. I figured everyone views (or at least should view) TikTok HQ as a kind of neutral medium, not an employer.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#199

Post by [deleted] »

bgorman wrote: post #112
wizofaus wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That arrangement seems to be almost entirely to the benefit of the EU/US, as there's little incentive for bright/ motivated Europeans or Americans to move to China, vs significant incentive in the opposite direction.

Google and Meta are the best software companies the US has produced in the last 25 years. These two companies are also largely responsible for driving up wages for SV workers. TikTok could destroy both companies.

[deleted]

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#200

Post by jen20 »

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…

> 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

Are we really sure this follows (even if the numbers are correct)?

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