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Justice Department says TikTok collected US user views on issues like abortion and gun control

In a fresh broadside against one of the world’s most popular technology companies, the Justice Department late Friday accused TikTok of harnessing the capability to gather bulk information on users based on views on divisive social issues like gun control, abortion and religion.

Government lawyers wrote in documents filed to the federal appeals court in Washington that TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance used an internal web-suite system called Lark to enable TikTok employees to speak directly with ByteDance engineers in China.

TikTok employees used Lark to send sensitive data about U.S. users, information that has wound up being stored on Chinese servers and accessible to ByteDance employees in China, federal officials said.

One of Lark’s internal search tools, the filing states, permits ByteDance and TikTok employees in the U.S. and China to gather information on users’ content or expressions, including views on sensitive topics, such as abortion or religion. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported TikTok had tracked users who watched LGBTQ content through a dashboard the company said it had since deleted.

JimSamtanko ,

And everyone STILL got butthurt when they tried to ban that shit.

alcoholicorn ,

You can buy that same user data from fb and insta.

catloaf ,

Let’s be clear, though, all major companies do this. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, even non-social media like Amazon. They all track users in this way. TikTok is just making the news because it’s controlled by China, who has an adversarial relationship with the US.

braindefragger , (edited )

Let’s be clear, though, all major companies do this. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, even non-social media like Amazon. They all track users in this way.

I’ve never actually seen it argued, yet it’s brought up every time like it is. You’d have to be under a rock the last 20 years to think that’s not the case.

We all understand that the solution is not banning one app, but instead setting rules all apps have to follow. But here we are and just because US companies are doing it, doesn’t somehow make it OK TikTok is.

Why?

The concern is ultimately influence. TikTok , controlled by China, was easily able to influence their users to take action when the initial talks of banning the app occurred. The data collection mentioned in this article is just one of many concerns that make up a much larger concern.

audiomodder ,

I think it’s twofold. There is an influence concern, but I think it’s more that the US doesn’t feel like it can lean on TikTok to push their propaganda while it very clearly does on other social media platforms. I also think that there’s a monetary thing. Congress doesn’t have an issue with American companies doing it because the companies make a ton of money selling influence and advertising data. Congress doesn’t like the fact that those advertising dollars aren’t going to US billionaires

WanderingVentra ,

TikTok , controlled by China, was easily able to influence their users to take action when the initial talks of banning the app occurred.

Were they? I don’t really recall users doing much to help Tik Tok at all.

And US companies do the same thing but arguably in a way that’s worse for our country. Elon is actively interfering with X/Twitter to make a more conservative user base, and Facebook is famous for giving this influence to other private companies leading to Trump. US companies, and the billionaires who own them, are using their influence to make the country more fascist by actually getting us people like Trump or asking the next President to change out the effective FTC leader or making us give tax money to a foreign power like Israel instead of US citizens. Meanwhile Tik Tok is, so far, just kind of limply asking users to save them when banned (equivalent to Google’s pleas during like the SOPA talks) and it resulting in… not much.

Do I want Chinese companies having my data? No. But I also don’t want US companies having my data, and I’d rank them equally, if not the danger of the latter to my well being actually higher.

braindefragger , (edited )

And US companies do the same thing but arguably in a way that’s worse for our country. Elon is actively interfering with X/Twitter to make a more conservative user base, and Facebook is famous for giving this influence to other private companies leading to Trump.

Again, I don’t understand why we have to keep going back to a known problem and try to use it to justify a different concern. The topic is China’s TikTok.

theverge.com/…/tiktok-congress-ban-push-notificat…

TikTok sent users in the US a push notification on Wednesday, warning that “Congress is planning a total ban of TikTok” that would “[strip] 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.” The page says that a ban would “damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deny artists an audience.” The alert includes a way for users to find their representative and call their office.

mashable.com/…/tiktok-users-call-congress-to-save…

“It’s so so bad. Our phones have not stopped ringing," said one GOP staffer in a report from https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/03/07/congress/tiktok-users-revolt-00145633. “They’re teenagers and old people saying they spend their whole day on the app and we can’t take it away.”

China can send push notifications to 170 million Americans about whatever they want.

WanderingVentra ,

Again, I don’t understand why we have to keep going back to a known problem and try to use it to justify a different concern. The topic is China’s TikTok.

Because the other problem is worse and more of a concern? Because it shows our politicians are either hypocrites, have a different agenda, or both? Because it tricks people into thinking their enemies are abroad rather than the rich at home, preventing international solidarity and underselling the problem of the influence of our own home grown businesses, billionaires, lobbyists? Because it strengthens their power by preventing another alternative avenue of information away from their censorship? Because usually the first solution takes away momentum from the problem, preventing a better solution for a longer period of time?

“They’re teenagers and old people saying they spend their whole day on the app and we can’t take it away.”

But did all those calls actually result in anything? No, Tik Tok is still being banned. Did the things I talk about result in anything, the influence of American companies? Yes, it’s increased and strengthened conservatives, the Citizens United scandal helped lead to Trump the first time, they’ve suppressed dissent against Israel, helping to justify genocide, normalized racist, homophobic, and transphobic rhetoric online in a more mainstream space (X), etc. These are hard facts, not conspiracy theories dreamed up about what China could do.

Not to mention that asking users to save their app is something literally any app run by a business would do. They would do that even if they were owned by an American company and were getting threatened by a ban. Like I said, no worse than the SOPA blackout by companies like Google and Reddit where they asked users to contact representatives. Meanwhile, American companies Uber and Lyft did huge lobbying efforts and spent record breaking amounts of money making life harder for gig workers in California with Prop 22, for example, and did a huge advertising campaign lying about the effects of it.

Let me ask another way: Do you really, in your heart, truly believe that they’re going to circle back to dealing with the privacy of American companies after Tik Tok? Be honest. This conversation will be permanently tabled once these Tik Tok articles are out of the zeitgeist.

braindefragger ,

But did all those calls actually result in anything? No, Tik Tok is still being banned.

I wear a helmet and a seatbelt because I’m aware of the potential injuries that could occur if I don’t. I’m not going to stop wearing a helmet because it hasn’t saved my life yet.

braindefragger ,

We should remove all centralized, single company run social media platforms in the US.

WanderingVentra ,

I agree, especially now that the fediverse is starting to become a thing 🤘. As long as we can keep the fediverse controlled by the users, and not dominated by companies like Meta’s Threads

NatakuNox ,
@NatakuNox@lemmy.world avatar

Controlled by China is a strong way to put it. China doesn’t need TikTok to get info on anyone. It’s not like there’s a government official pouring over TikTok data. I’m sure if the Chinese government asked for information on someone TikTok would give it over but that’s no different than how the US government gets their data.

disguy_ovahea ,

You grossly underestimate ML data collation.

circuitfarmer ,
@circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Came here to say this. The ability to infer the interests, opinions, and (by a pretty simple extension) political views of users is the cornerstone of all social media. TikTok is clearly being singled out here.

I would hope that the public would be educated enough by now to realize that they are always the product with any “free” service. But I also know that is a lofty wish.

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