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Azurfant t1_j30knlw wrote

Reply to comment by 90swasbest in Why TikTok’s future has never been so cloudy by prehistoric_knight

Its not about the content.... Its about the fact that downloading and having Tik Tok on your phone grants Tik Tok AKA China the ability to collect as much data as they allow themselves. It is a Trojan Horse that helps itself to every piece of data on your phone even though it shouldn't be allowed to collect data to any extent beyond its own user profile information.

Again, its not about the content on Tik Tok. Its about the fact that the app stealthily helps itself to collecting as much information about you (from your phone) as is possible. The Chinese government can, and will, use that data and anything else unsavory it can find (think in terms of blackmail) to threaten, or control people (like politicians) in the future.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j30mi7t wrote

It’s also about the content.

What you create and consume.

That data is just like data of you browsing on Amazon. They use it to refine suggestions on what to show you next etc.

That also says a lot about your interests, political leanings, fetishes, medical issues etc. skipping certain videos or watching certain videos is feeding that algorithm. It knows you better than you know yourself. Hormones impact what interests/bores you before you even realize. Even menstrual cycles can be uncovered by data like this. Shopping habits can detect pregnancy before customers even realize their pregnant. People browse based on complex brain chemistry. Same thing goes for video and content you consume or create.

They could monetize it, use it for blackmail, use it as data points for misinformation campaigns etc.

I’m 100% convinced the whole antimask thing is a Russian and Chinese campaign to prove that they can perform a misinformation campaign at scale against a target. They convinced republicans who pride themselves on prepping for the end of the world with fallout shelters and gas masks to think a mask will kill them.

Imagine if they targeted US military and their families to desert? Or not wear necessary equipment? Or sabotage US assets.

They did that as a demo of what their misinformation weapon is capable of.

In 30 years this will be declassified and you’ll see this and the election interference were the real cuberwarfare. Not some “hackers” in a dark room with green text flying across a screen.

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