• TheFriar@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    the “for you” page of TikTok is an algorithmic beast unlike anything else. It is miles better at training to your likes than anyone else manages.

    And maybe this is me being a pessimist and something of a Luddite lite, but I take that to mean the data they’re extracting from users is way more invasive than other companies.

    They’re not hand selecting things they think you’d like, like you said, it’s an incredibly advanced algorithm that is scientifically creating the most effective content service they can.

    And yeah, def agree people who trust WhatsApp are dumb af. I don’t trust meta any more than I trust the people who own TikTok’s algorithm.

    I think we’re basically saying the same thing, but just looking at it differently. I take what you’re saying to mean they’re more invasive. You are more or less saying they’re as invasive as any other SM company, and they’re all pretty much neck and neck.

    I’d agree in some senses, but think TikTok has mastered that profiling to the heights anyone could even imagine. And I also think, with ties to the Chinese govt—a ruthlessly authoritarian state—that it doesn’t bode well for user privacy, probably going beyond that threshold you mentioned. I would say the exact same thing if Facebook were owned by the US govt and was operating in China, Russia, etc.

    • huginn@feddit.it
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      2 months ago

      Yeah seems like we’re just of different opinions there.

      I firmly believe that American companies have excruciating detail on every single user, as well as most non-users. That’s how they can do things like predict pregnancy before the rest of the family has been told…

      And that was Target more than a decade ago.

      And I also think, with ties to the Chinese govt

      It’s worth noting that ByteDance has a board that is 3/5ths American. The company has a communist committee like all Chinese megacorps.

      China has blocked Youtube because it contained content around Free Tibet & Tienanmen Square. American Congress has decided to ban Tiktok because it might have content that China wants people to see (maybe). There is no credible reason why besides “No totally, trust me it’s a problem”.