What exactly about the tiktok app makes it Chinese spyware? Has it been proven it can do something?
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I see a lot of technical answers, so there is the actual ELI answers:
1. The app collects and egregious amount of data from the user, much more than an app of it’s type should. The company in China is beholden to share this data with the chinese government. The vast amount of data can be used for very large data models about the behavoirs, interests, likes, and trends in young people around the world, which will inform Chinese government decision making.
1. Now add in the ability for Artificial intelligence like ChatGPT to create an infinite amount of content catered to those users based on the data collected; the ability for social engineering on a national level is insanity.
2. The app was deliberately designed to be as addictive as possible, and they know it. Why? because the version of the app available to us, isn’t available in mainland china. Rather, their version has controls built in for amount of use in the day.
3. Tech folks have pulled it apart, and there’s plenty of in built features, such as encrypted communications channels, and access to unnecessary features on our phones; that a social media app doesn’t need. That implies it’s primary use isn’t a social media app, but a data collection tool.
4. “It does nothing that Facebook and Google don’t do” – a common cope out. The vast difference is two-fold: US companies often work with the US government, but are not *legally required* to (Re: Apple fighting against the FBI), in china they are; and China is an extremely repressive and possibly genocidal dictatorship that ultimately seeks to re-order the world system in it’s own image; the US/Western world is… well, not that. The vast troves of data from TikTok give the Chinese government insights into global trends that let them make high level decisions.
5. “Is china spying on ME? Why do I care?” – Not likely you in particular, unless you’re a anti-communist activist, or a Chinese expat. It’s scooping your meta data, you and a billion other people. Does that impact you? Probably not. But you’re a contributing data point to their world plans now, and your personal information is in the Chinese government’s hands.
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