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As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

economist.com

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Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#371

Post by grecy »

bluehorseray wrote: post #110
winternett wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Microsoft said "Come work for us every day for free, you may get brand deals!" Would anyone with talent, skills, and self respect jump to do it? Working for free at a large and quite profitable company? The problem is that because of how perception can be manipulated on social platforms based on that success illusion. It makes people think that the success comes just for creating simple content, and trumps one's a…

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

I have a moderately successful YouTube channel and good instagram following. Filming, editing , posting and commenting on 2 videos a week is absolutely a job.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#372

Post by giancarlostoro »

fabianhjr wrote: post #238
Calvin02 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. China and Russia are the biggest geopolitical threats to the world. It is surprisingly that simple. While the US and the western governments have their issues, they are still largely law abiding. China, however, is not. Additionally, under Xi, it has become more authoritarian and more willing to undo the rules based order that has someone kept the world somewhat sane since WWII. I don’t know why anyone would be…

I am from latin america and at least neither China nor Russia have participated in coup d'etat to install a military junta to then torture and massacre anyone slightly left of the US "Democratic" Party. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2khAmMTAjI

China didn't need to, they flock to China and other countries on their own, for example Hugo Chavez with China:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Venezuela_relati...

What was once a beautiful nation is now rife with crime, even the military of all things is told not to have cell phones out by stop lights because somebody will swing on by on a motorcycle and hijack the phone. From the darn military! Still surprised they get away with it.

I also remember hearing from a relative that Chavez would basically bring Cuban doctors over from Cuba.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#373

Post by Ozzie_osman »

bko wrote: post #259
shikoba wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is because China is the enemy. When it's Facebook or Google strangely it's never an issue. Moral is always a facade for international economic war. And some people fall for it.

I think there's a difference between a private company having my data and an adversarial government. The company has a clear motive, profit. They're lawful neutral. An adversarial government may be chaotic evil. I don't know why this isn't obvious. Wasn't everyone freaking out just a few years ago when Russian government was manipulating people with political groups on Facebook? And that's even with Facebook's earnes…

> Wasn't everyone freaking out just a few years ago when Russian government was manipulating people with political groups on Facebook?

Yes, if by everyone you mean Americans, because their country was the target. There are many countries where media has been manipulated by the CIA, too.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#374

Post by sumnole »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #196
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.

I have been on TikTok since release and have never seen any tiktoks of the categories you mention. Can't even find them with a hashtag search.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#375

Post by vineyardmike »

AlexandrB wrote: post #312
mathverse wrote: post #57

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.

The idea that when entities from two countries interact we have to apply the norms of the least free country to the interaction seems counterproductive. Are we going to ban Afghani women from driving in the US because US women can't drive there? It seems like a race to the bottom.

> Are we going to ban Afghani women from driving in the US because US women can't drive there

If they don’t have a valid international drivers license (presumed because they don’t drive at home) then literally yes we do de facto ban them.

But it’s not about giving the people less rights at home it’s demanding they give us as much rights as we give them. The framing is backwards. Why do we honor their license (for men or women) if they don’t honor ours (incl our women)? Why is it not wrong to demand they treat us as well as we treat them? “If you want America to honor your licenses then you must honor ALL American licenses as equally as America does”

Don’t tolerate intolerance. Don’t play games with bad governments.

Disclaimer: I have no idea what actual Afghani laws around driving look like I’m just using your example.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#377

Post by vineyardmike »

wizofaus wrote: post #121
bgorman wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Those two companies will be "destroyed" when they can no longer do what they do as well as their competitors. What the current laws are in China are unlikely to have much impact either way.

The point is that we allow competition from China but they can’t compete in China. It’s asymmetrical competition. The Chinese companies have a bigger population of customers (so more access to make money, more people to serve and grow from etc).

China protects their businesses from American competition but we don’t protect our businesses from Chinese competition.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#378

Post by josephcsible »

tzs wrote: post #370
mathverse wrote: post #57

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.

> We (europeans and americans) cant do really anything in China, we have essentially no rights and cant really conduct business. Sure you can. You just have to conduct your business in China under the same rules that Chinese businesses in China have to follow. Most countries or pseudo-countries work this way. For example the EU is about to tell US companies conducting business in Europe that they have to use USB-C fo…

> You just have to conduct your business in China under the same rules that Chinese businesses in China have to follow.

Isn't one of the rules that foreign companies are required to partner with, and thus share all of their trade secrets with, a domestic Chinese company?

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#379

Post by vineyardmike »

Smithalicious wrote: post #308
stjohnswarts wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The FCC commissioner just point out there is no firewall between Chinese engineers from rifling through and copying all the data from the “USA based” servers. It defies belief that anyone thinks that the CCP isn't doing exactly that lol and building up dossiers on every TikTok member. For example just find all the MAGA leaning people and try to convert them over to CCP terrorist cells. I mean I'm not a CIA analyst, b…

Make America Great Again conservative "China virus" people are very much not aligned with Chinese communist party terrorist cells, and I don't see how anyone could believe they are unless you mentally lump everybody you don't like into a single bucket.

The Chinese government can make them act against the interest of the US even if they don’t know they’re behaving pro-China.

It’s like those stories of Russians on FB making maga rally events. They don’t know it’s not an American doing things they just follow along.

Re: As TikTok grows, so does suspicion

#380

Post by vineyardmike »

yorwba wrote: post #27
ectopod wrote: post #21

China passed a law a couple of years ago requiring all Chinese companies to give the government live access to their databases. Is TikTok exempt? If not, statements that the government hasn't requested any data are misleading. They don't need to.

TikTok is technically not a Chinese company, so it wouldn't be affected by such a law. But I haven't read the law and don't know how accurate your summary of it is. Do you have a link?

When I interviewed for a job at TikTok (SV office) the interviewer worked at byte dance and was in China.

Absolutely zero separation between Chinese and American business regardless of what they claim.

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