FCC Head to Apple/Google: “Please Remove TikTok From App Store.”

[hanselthecaretaker]

FCC Commissioner Tells Google and Apple to Pull TikTok From Their App Stores

Commissioner Brendan Carr railed against the popular Chinese-owned social platform, alleging it was handing over U.S. citizen’s data to Beijing.

gizmodo.com

 

[McElroy]

And? AFAIK you're supposed to add a conversation opener or at least some context in the original post.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

I don't get why anyone uses TikTok, it's really bad for you without the Chinese aspect.

 

[Agema]

TikTok is basically like other social media sites such as Twitter or FB, except that it is even less ethical because it's not been subjected to anything like the same public scrutiny.

 

[Satinavian]

So big corporations outside of the US are doing the data collection and using as well and now it's a problem ? Cry me a river.

That is not defending TikTok, but if you have problems with big data corps and potential danger of abuse or the possibility of gouvernemts tapping into that, it is not significantly different from all the other ones.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

So big corporations outside of the US are doing the data collection and using as well and now it's a problem ? Cry me a river.

"But muh Murrican Exceptionalism!!!"

 

[Agema]

So big corporations outside of the US are doing the data collection and using as well and now it's a problem ? Cry me a river.

Given the Chinese government's attitude to dissent, including its increasingly aggressive attempts to control expression outside its own borders, and that it really does have a law which can order companies to hand it information, I would avoid giving as much information about myself as possible to any Chinese firm.

I am of course aware that Western governments attempt to control narratives too, and have the means to attempt to force companies to hand over information (or that companies can be alarmingly hand-in-glove with government). But I still think they are a long way off China's authoritarian control.

 

[Satinavian]

Given the Chinese government's attitude to dissent, including its increasingly aggressive attempts to control expression outside its own borders, and that it really does have a law which can order companies to hand it information, I would avoid giving as much information about myself as possible to any Chinese firm.

Wasn't the whole deal with the US losing safe harbor status with the EU that it has basically the same kind of law? And oversight of this process through secret courts?

I don't see that much difference between being spied on by the US or China. And both nations also have a history of using their intelligence services for industrial espionoge as well.

There are really many points where i regard China worse, but not in this particular instance.


Now if i had current contacts there or were doing buissness, Chinas agressive reactions to opinions it doesn't like, might concern me personally. But in such a case i would be careful what i write in non-Chinese mediums as well and even that would not make me more concerned about my data being collected by China than about my data being collected by the US.
I mean, i don't do social media anyway aside from forums like this and that is part of the reason.

 

[Agema]

Wasn't the whole deal with the US losing safe harbor status with the EU that it has basically the same kind of law? And oversight of this process through secret courts?

The USA (and allies) can spy on their citizens, sure. However, the legality of this is dubious, as is whether they have the same level of access to information, or in some cases even the ability to usefully sort such a mass of data. They can also go to a court to demand forms of access to information, but that does mean the process has an independent check and oversight.

But mostly, I think a lot of it is about the attitude of governments. The West really does have a fundamental principle of individual freedom such that its governments don't care so much what people do. Sure, if someone aggravates them, they might start making that person's life difficult. But they're not invested in micromanaging our lives, indoctrinating our thoughts, controlling our speech and actions to anything like the same degree.

 

[Satinavian]

But i am not a US citizen. I am not even a citizen of one of the five eyes powers. Admittedly an ally, but history has not shown particular restraint as far as "spying on allies" goes nor do i trust US courts when it comes to limiting the power of US services against foreigners.

Also i don't trust an arrangement based on literally secret courts to provide any form of independend oversight.

But they're not invested in micromanaging our lives, indoctrinating our thoughts, controlling our speech and actions to anything like the same degree

Sure. But neither the US nor China have any power to actually do that to me in a meaningful way (at least not without wasting way to much influence for it), so that is not a concern for me when considering who can get my data and what they could abuse it for.


When it comes to gouvernments controlling their citizens, yes, China is far far worse. But for me the US and China are just foreign powers.

 

[Trunkage]

Given the Chinese government's attitude to dissent, including its increasingly aggressive attempts to control expression outside its own borders, and that it really does have a law which can order companies to hand it information, I would avoid giving as much information about myself as possible to any Chinese firm.

I am of course aware that Western governments attempt to control narratives too, and have the means to attempt to force companies to hand over information (or that companies can be alarmingly hand-in-glove with government). But I still think they are a long way off China's authoritarian control.

Consumer data was used to justify ICE raids of hundreds of people

None of it used anything remotely legal. A lot of it was made up information. A lot of it was maybe inferences and connections that dont make sense because it was based on a robotic algorithm

I.e. It's similar to the Chinese social credit system with less human control. I... don't know which one is worse