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0 pointsbduerst4y ago0 comments

TikTok doesn't even exist in China.

The parent Bytedance does, and their Chinese equivalent is Taiotao. Even the TikTok data servers exist in South Korea.

This is an important distinction because there has been zero proof that TikTok is spying or is a tool for China, despite clickbait articles, memes, and accusations existing. This is the first time TikTok is being used observed to be used for government political censorship... And in Russia of all places.

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6 comments · 4 top-level

qaq4y ago· 2 in thread

China has being pushing Russian narratives on the war internally in state media. So I think you might be disproving the "is not a tool for China" part.

ClumsyPilot4y ago

I think the assumption was that it spies on users or does something more interesting that just pedestrial propaganda

qaq4y ago

The fact is it's verifiably used as a propaganda tool increases the chance it's used for other "special" needs too.

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futhey4y ago

Douyin (TikTok's brand name in the PRC) adds server-side search censorship, and the ability to remotely execute arbitrary code for a specific user.

Study: https://citizenlab.ca/2021/03/tiktok-vs-douyin-security-priv...

Original Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/RonDeibert/status/1374010176534118400

This is ongoing government political censorship in the PRC.

RyanShook4y ago

TikTok is available in China. The app is called Douyin. And the content being shown to Chinese citizens is very different from what is being shown to Americans. Social media apps are the Trojan horse of politics today used by all sides.

beebmam4y ago

If a company refuses to open source its software that it operates as a service, you should assume the absolute worst. The burden of proof is on the companies, to prove to us that they aren't spying or using their software as a tool for a government to spy. This applies to all services, including cloud providers.

It's the same with governments. Non-transparent governments which do not make its reports and internal statements public should be assumed to be committing massive crimes. It's up to them to prove to us that they aren't.

Why should I trust an organization that hides reality from me to not abuse its power?

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