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Comment by bsimpson

8 hours ago

I met someone who did some high-level work for ByteDance. I asked them what they thought of the worries that TikTok was a CCP spying instrument.

They said ByteDance is as disorganized as any other big tech company, and it would be approximately impossible for them to discretely pull that off.

It's easy to see "CCP" and think bogeyman, but it is interesting to think about how achievable it would be to pull off something shady at Google or Facebook, and apply that same thought process to ByteDance.

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bsimpson

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bun_at_work  8 hours ago

Given the Cambridge Analytica scandal, why wouldn't it be achievable at Facebook, let alone TikTok.

The CCP could mandate that the TikTok algorithm display certain types of political content, then further mandate that any criticism of the CCP be limited, especially discussion of the said censorship. Most users wouldn't know about it and leakers at ByteDance wouldn't be able to change that. It's not the US - they are punished in China in a way that doesn't happen in the US.

  • properpopper  2 hours ago

    > The CCP could mandate that the TikTok algorithm display certain types of political content

    Who couldn't? Do we have a proof?

    > It's not the US - they are punished in China in a way that doesn't happen in the US.

    Do you have a comparison graph? You seem to be knowledgeable

    • sadeshmukh  1 hour ago

      Chinese laws allow for more direct state control of tech companies, even more so than the US. They must legally turn over any data they have, and have to have CCP members installed in their companies.