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ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists’ physical location

forbes.com

411–420 of 501 posts

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

#411

> General counsel Erich Andersen wrote to staff that a “misguided plan was developed and carried out by a few individuals within the Internal Audit department this past summer”, adding that those involved “misused their authority to obtain access to TikTok user data” in violation of its code of conduct. Ah yes, straight from the playbook: management gets caught being mischievous and throws a few underlings under the…

GDPR (which is still in effect in the UK) doesn't really care about _who_ misuses the data. I really hope that the information commission has the bollocks to nail tiktok for this

And the UK is welcome to try to enforce the GDPR against the PRC.

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

#412

We really really need to shut this down as a national security issue. If they took it off Apple and Google Play stores it would reduce usage immediately by at least 80-90% along with having apple/android send out blocks like they can for malware (which it is). It's hard to believe Biden didn't continue Trump's attempt to shut it down.

We should also shut down all the US-based media in Europe then, for the exact same reason.

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

#413
post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't see you shut down Uber who did worse things.

> didn't see you shut down Uber who did worse things You're comparing a company pursuing commercial interests with a militaristic dictatorship threatening our allies.

[flagged]

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

#414
post #351

So if I'm reading this right, it was wrong only because they were spying on Americans. Spying on others is apparently still ok.

Twitter hired private spooks to track journalists and Elon is still living off government grants, so yeah, obviously.

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

#415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How do you propose we "ban" it from the United States? Sanction it. > some in government may want to do the same for Twitter Difficult to do this with an American, or even allied, country.

The result of this will be millions of American teen girls learning how to "sideload" apps onto their device. Of course, a significant percentage of them will end up sideloading malware onto their device at the same time. The funny aspect to me is that the senators pushing to "ban TikTok" are the same senators pushing for an "open App Store" bill. But I don't see how you can have it both ways. Sure you can sanction T…

> funny aspect to me is that the senators pushing to "ban TikTok" are the same senators pushing for an "open App Store" bill

They're both about open markets. China is not only a closed market, it's threatening our open-market allies.

> going to jail every middle schooler who "does business" with them by downloading the app from unofficial sources?

If they download the app from unofficial sources and then send it money, somehow, or get money from it, somehow, yes, they'd be treated like someone trading with the Taliban. If they're just using the software, no, that's like using open-source code written by an Iranian.

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

#416
post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GDPR (which is still in effect in the UK) doesn't really care about _who_ misuses the data. I really hope that the information commission has the bollocks to nail tiktok for this

And the UK is welcome to try to enforce the GDPR against the PRC.

Last I checked TikTok has a huge office in London. They’re not invulnerable to penalties.

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

#417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How do you propose we "ban" it from the United States? Sanction it. > some in government may want to do the same for Twitter Difficult to do this with an American, or even allied, country.

The result of this will be millions of American teen girls learning how to "sideload" apps onto their device. Of course, a significant percentage of them will end up sideloading malware onto their device at the same time. The funny aspect to me is that the senators pushing to "ban TikTok" are the same senators pushing for an "open App Store" bill. But I don't see how you can have it both ways. Sure you can sanction T…

Making it impossible for them to operate a business in the US ought to be more than sufficient.

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

#418
post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> didn't see you shut down Uber who did worse things You're comparing a company pursuing commercial interests with a militaristic dictatorship threatening our allies.

[flagged]

> China, which didn’t invade anyone in half a decade, militaristic? Let me guess, you’re American?

Nobody's claiming America isn't militaristic. But it's not a dictatorship. And it's acting in its self interest. China blocks every foreign social media app. Whataboutism doesn't make rhetorical sense here.

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

#419
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Facebook, for example, did so, for its own purposes. This is just as bad It’s in a totally different league. Domestic corporation spying for commercial purposes versus a militaristic dictatorship with a track record of extrajudicial harassment.

A book i can highly recommend is "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Professor Shoshana Zuboff from the Harvard Business School. TLDR "commercial purposes" include selling data in bulk to government agencies, which could not seize such data without a warrant and judicial oversight, thus allowing them to circumvent the very protection mechanisms that are in place to prevent extrajudical harassment in favor of creating a state of mass surveillance.

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

#420
post #318
post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is actually insane that we let China do whatever they want here while US companies are effectively prevented from gaining a foothold in China. I wish people, at least of this site, would stop with this argument. US and European companies in China simply have to follow the same rules Chinese companies have to. It's admirable that they then go ahead and just don't do business there but they're not being prevented…

> simply have to follow the same rules Chinese companies have to I don’t think it’s simple at all. That might be how it works on paper but I’ll ask you this. Do you think a US or European equivalent would ever be allowed to gain a comparable market share? Or would they find many convenient barriers while a Chinese clone, backed by the government, was being built? I just don’t see a world where Chinese and US companie…

I think you're talking about two different things here. I never argued that they are on the same footing. That's true for every country on this planet.

My main point here was that Facebook and Google are allowed to operate in China if they follow the law of the land. I've already said that not operating there is arguably admirable but the point is that they're definitely allowed to operate there if they follow the law of the land. And the laws for them are no different than they are for Chinese companies.

Apple and Microsoft are doing absolutely fine in China. Apple's mobile market share there is bigger than it is in Europe. So yes, they already _are_ allowed to gain a comparable market share. As for regular social media; LinkedIn is also doing just fine and always has.

Teslas were the #1 electric cars sold for the last time frame I could find.

There are various areas where foreign companies are big or even dominate the Chinese market.

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