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TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

bbc.com

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Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#321

Post by 93po »

kreco wrote: post #193
ThoAppelsin wrote: post #77

DMs are akin to private conversations in real life. Thus, every DM feature should entail E2EE. It’s ok for a platform to not feature private conversations. They should just have no DM feature at all, then; make all messages publicly visible. Private conversations are indeed not for all ages. Parents should be able to grant access to that on individual basis.

> They should just have no DM feature at all, then; make all messages publicly visible. This makes no sense. I can discuss something in a bar which is not a very private conversation, I wouldn't care if someone else hear what I'm saying. But I also don't want someone to record it and post it on the internet to be seen by the whole world. Privacy is not just boolean you toggle somewhere.

In a bar you're not speaking directly into a microphone that is permanently saving everything you say for later instant access by every government and advertising agency that wants to prosecute you or invade your privacy to sell you something

Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#322

Post by tedd4u »

wiseowise wrote: post #232
LambdaComplex wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as I want to agree with you, the people who like TikTok make up a significant amount of the population, and their opinions do matter--arguably more than yours, due to sheer numbers. Smugly dismissing them doesn't do you any favors except for making you feel good about yourself for a few seconds.

You’d be surprised how many people don’t give a shit about TikTok. It’s just another blip in history like Facebook, Instagram, Vine, MySpace and others before them.

Regarding "why care." It's where a shockingly large portion of voters and adults get their "news."

• 43% of US 18-29 year olds regularly get news on TikTok

• Half of US adults get news on TikTok, 1 in 5 US "regularly" do so

• This is 2 points less than Twitter and two points more than Facebook

Data from Pew Research (Sep 2025): https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/09/25/1-in-5-am...

Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#323

Post by danlitt »

trashb wrote: post #245
danlitt wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there is more of an expectation of privacy on those medium What does the "p" in "pm" stand for?

excuse me, I confused "Private messages" (pm) for "Direct messages" (dm). I will update above

I don't think you confused anything, except for the terminology the platform uses. There is an obvious expectation of privacy when sending direct messages!

Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#324

Post by red-iron-pine »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #248
throw0101c wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tiktok has direct messages, they don't even call them private. It may not be called that, but what are users expecting? Some folks may later be surprised when a warrant gets issued (e.g., from a divorce judge).

If you are a grown adult and dont do research on “messaging apps” (which Tik Tok is not) then thats really on you.

80% of the population does not and will never do that level of deep dive on apps

same discussion for any form of technology be it TVs or changing their car's oil

the deliberate app-store-ification of all things computer is also designed to keep people from asking those questions -- just download in and install, pleb.

it's why the Zoomers can't email attachments or change file types: all of the computers they grew up with were designed so they never had to understand what happens under the hood.

Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#325

Post by danlitt »

gzread wrote: post #258
danlitt wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there is more of an expectation of privacy on those medium What does the "p" in "pm" stand for?

it stands for "not a public timeline post"

It should be obvious from how contrived your wording is that nobody thinks of them this way.

Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#326

Post by danlitt »

InsomniacL wrote: post #238
danlitt wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it's a fair argument in this scenario to say that a platform has a better opportunity to protect minors if messages aren't encrypted Would it be a fair argument to say the police have a better opportunity to prevent crimes if they can enter your house without a warrant? People are paranoid about this sort of thing not because they think law enforcement is more effective when it is constrained. But how easil…

> Would it be a fair argument to say the police have a better opportunity to prevent crimes if they can enter your house without a warrant? Police can access your home with a warrant. Police cannot access your E2EE DMs with a warrant.

Not answering my question!

> Police cannot access your E2EE DMs with a warrant.

They can and do, regularly. What they can't do is prevent you from deleting your DMs if you know you're under investigation and likely to be caught. But refusing to give up encryption keys and supiciously empty chat histories with a valid warrant is very good evidence of a crime in itself.

They also can't prevent you from flushing drugs down the toilet, but somehow people are still convicted for drug-related crimes all the time. So - yes, obviously, the police could prosecute more crimes if we gave up this protection. That's how limitations on police power work.

Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#328

Post by oscaracso »

swiftcoder wrote: post #320
a13o wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Listed in the article are the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Internet Watch Foundation, which monitors and removes child sexual abuse material from the internet. The recent Meta lawsuits also mention opposition from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Meta's own executives: Monika Bickert (head of content policy) and Antigone Davis (global head of safety). Bo…

> Both executives mention the danger end-to-end encryption poses to children when attached to a social media graph So the fact that we welded a messaging platform onto a global-child-discovery-service is bad? Sure. Not encrypting that messaging platform is sort of closing the barn door after the horse has gone walkabout

It is a considerably larger threat for anonymous strangers to be able to establish private lines of communication with children than for them to know that Lisa Simpson (8) lives in Springfield and attends Springfield Elementary. In terms of discovery, most people are already aware that children can be found in school.

Re: TikTok will not introduce end-to-end encryption, saying it makes users less safe

#329

Post by butterbomb »

azinman2 wrote: post #89
debazel wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Children are just too effect of a tool when building a surveillance state. We should have banned children from owning open computers a long time ago just like we do with Alcohol, Driving licenses, etc. Instead children would own special devices that are locked down and tagged with a "underage" flag when interacting with online services, while adults could continue as normal. We already heavily restrict the freedom of…

Would be a nightmare to implement and achieve the goal, but I have to say I think it’s more right than wrong. All of the data is very clear about the harms. China has restrictions for social media and screen time for kids — how do they implement this?

> how do they implement this?

Centralized power and being unafraid to use authoritarian tactics. Also the general cultural ethos of the people.

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