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ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

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Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#101
post #7

I feel like this is talking out of both sides of the mouth. If the issue is that corporations aren't following data privacy laws, build the privacy into the tool at the software/ecosystem level (e.g make signup without true name / phone number / IMEI a legal requirement, signup without location sharing a legal requirement) then it'll be impossible to track journalists for both Chinese and American companies.

Telcos can still track their customers, and who knows which three-letter agencies can get all that data.

The only issue now is (it seems), that it's the chinese doing it and not facebook/google or local telcos.

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#102
post #4

https://www.vox.com/recode/23453786/tiktok-bytedance-cfius-d... Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner argues that even if there is nothing wrong with Tiktok it ought to be banned because it gives China a crucial edge in the development of AI tools that American companies don't have. China is able to freely access Western markets but not the other way around. > Finally, there’s the fear that China will be…

> That’s an advantage the US won’t have because [its social media apps are banned in China and] because there aren’t laws that would compel social media companies to hand over data just because the government wants it. Wait, why would it be an advantage for creation of AI in the US if social media companies (or company) could be more easily compelled to give our data to the government? Given that it's the social medi…

Because Bytedance and similar orgs are merged with the CCP. So they pass data up the chain, and the CCP can make new rules, investments, and directives with it. This allows the CCP to accelerate with this data in ways that the US cannot.

So CCP gets full access to American residents, without reciprocating US social media actions within it, and then compels Bytedance to give it access.

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why do we allow our strategic enemy to have software on our phones? They make the phones. What makes you trust the hardware in the first place?

That’s exactly my point. Apple moving some production to India (or so I read) is a good first step. Western production moved to China due to Chinese strategic efforts to locate our industrial production there. We should have our own strategic effort of our own to reverse that.

This is rewriting history.

Production moved to China because China began allowing foreign investment, and Chinese labor was cheaper. Foreign companies made their own decisions to take advantage of cheap Chinese labor.

This wasn't some sort of nefarious Chinese plot. The US also wanted China to open up to American investment.

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#104
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When US bans something to protect itself, that’s OK, but when another country does it, it’s a suppression of free speech and freedoms and whatnot. Doesn’t this sound a bit off ?

If China decided to ban a US company for using its app to locate Chinese citizens, I'd say that is totally fair.

China has banned all western social media I think?

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should do both. This is detracting from the fact that we have an actively hostile actor with a huge platform here in our country, and that needs to be handled as soon as possible. I totally support broad regulation of privacy law. TikTok is a much deeper concern. I don't like seeing a good cause used to distract from another good cause.

personally despite all that, it seems weird that western social network / tech companies aren't able to operate in china but the reverse is fine.

Mainly due to different government systems/markets. Each nation applies certain rules to protect interests and favored companies. An article that described some is here [1].

[1] https://time.com/6139988/countries-where-twitter-facebook-ti...

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#106
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The American clones are garbage. The problem with protectionism is it leads to less competition and therefore worse products. If you want apps to stop tracking people just make it illegal for apps to tracks people. Country of origin is irrelelvant.

I aggree, it's a much more pragmatic solution. But do you really think the CCP would follow this rule?

The CCP doesn't have anything to do with it. TikTok would have to follow the rule, just like any other company.

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#107
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which US companies are tracking journalist locations for the Chinese government? Tesla?

The claim wasn't that they did so for the Chinese government. But Facebook, for example, did so, for its own purposes. This is just as bad. We can't really have journalism being threatened, regardless of whether it's threatened by China, or supposedly-loyal US companies.

[deleted]

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s exactly my point. Apple moving some production to India (or so I read) is a good first step. Western production moved to China due to Chinese strategic efforts to locate our industrial production there. We should have our own strategic effort of our own to reverse that.

This is rewriting history. Production moved to China because China began allowing foreign investment, and Chinese labor was cheaper. Foreign companies made their own decisions to take advantage of cheap Chinese labor. This wasn't some sort of nefarious Chinese plot. The US also wanted China to open up to American investment.

China made a large effort to woo western companies to manufacture there. Afaik they built special economic zones, it was a deliberate effort by the govt. If it all happened by accident then why didn’t manufacturing move to India? Both China and India moved to the GATT at the same time afaik.

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#109
post #43

Whatever complaints people have about how deep the tendrils of the US government have infiltrated into US companies, there is at least some separation and the rule of law. Yes, the government can get warrants for pen registers, issue NSLs and the like but there's still a process for that. This simply isn't true for the Chinese government and Chinese companies. But the other issue, which is both more palatable and mor…

Come on man don't be so naive.

Re: ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

#110
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

personally despite all that, it seems weird that western social network / tech companies aren't able to operate in china but the reverse is fine.

The west values free enterprise, association, etc. China does not. If you want to be more like china, you can ban them, but if you think that freedom is valuable, it's you who's losing out

Or you can have a group of countries that mostly cooperates and leave out the ones that only take and never give.
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