EEVblog TikTok

[EEVblog]

Apparently you can create and upload TikTok videos without a shoe phone, so I did it. Here you go, knock yourself out kiddies.
Don't forget to give my video a commie thumbs up, or a like, or whatever it is.

https://www.tiktok.com/@eevblog/video/7134880292069854466

[Keri Szafir]

I still can't believe you did it! You set the new standards for irony.

[rsjsouza]

I have never visited this website before, so the first time was to see an EEV video.

I only opened the link on incognito mode as I don't trust their cookies.

[Ed.Kloonk]

I have never visited this website before, so the first time was to see an EEV video.

I only opened the link on incognito mode as I don't trust their cookies.

It's a dangerous stepping stone. If Dave shows up on onlyfans next, I'm gonna jump off a bridge.

[rsjsouza]

I have never visited this website before, so the first time was to see an EEV video.

I only opened the link on incognito mode as I don't trust their cookies.

It's a dangerous stepping stone. If Dave shows up on onlyfans next, I'm gonna jump off a bridge.

[Azzazekon]

This is a blast from the past! It's been over a year since this post was made, but I'm glad you still had the chance to make an EEVblog TikTok. I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate it! I gave your video a like and a share.

Edit by gnif: removed link to buy TikTok views and banned account, left the post though for context.

[EEVblog]

This is a blast from the past! It's been over a year since this post was made, but I'm glad you still had the chance to make an EEVblog TikTok. I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate it! I gave your video a like and a share.

Yeah, nah. TikTok should be banned IMO.
Thinking about maybe doing more Youtube shorts.

[John B]

This is a blast from the past! It's been over a year since this post was made, but I'm glad you still had the chance to make an EEVblog TikTok. I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate it! I gave your video a like and a share.

Yeah, nah. TikTok should be banned IMO.
Thinking about maybe doing more Youtube shorts.

I think the onlyfans idea is less objectionable than youtube shorts.

[SiliconWizard]

I don't get the point of YT shorts. (Well, I do, but I wish I didn't.)

[wilfred]

Youtube shorts have their place for a quick video response to comments on another video such as this one.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HHOhku_5IKA

Or this one is a good example of a short video celebrating 500k subscribers.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/toxbiNnK-vM

[DavidAlfa]

I'm not a TickTard user for obvious reasons, too much grass while trying to find the needle.

[EEVblog]

I don't get the point of YT shorts. (Well, I do, but I wish I didn't.)

People can view them quickly on their shoe phone. 1 minute chunks of dopamine.

[all_repair]

It does not matter which platform you are on.  If the clip is good enough, it shall be on all platforms.  If you don't want to upload, someone shall do so.

[Bicurico]

I have this question:

Imagine I developed a super app that everyone installs and uses on their smartphone.
This app has access to picture gallery, contacts, GPS and perhaps the mic, too.
The app collects all this data of all the people.

How would I make money with this data?
What else would I be able to do?

I understand that companies can make money by offering custom ads that leads people to make purchases and they get a commission for this.

But is this all?

Manipulate opinions by forcing certain contents over other content, for example to make people vote preferably one party over another?

Please enlighten me!

And no, I don't have any cool app published...

[Ed.Kloonk]

I have this question:

Imagine I developed a super app that everyone installs and uses on their smartphone.
This app has access to picture gallery, contacts, GPS and perhaps the mic, too.
The app collects all this data of all the people.

Who would I make money with this data?
What else would I be able to do?

Because depending on the data silently collected and the identity of people who belong to it, the theory goes that the 'bad actor' can ultimately extort bitcoin from a company or even a country in charge of said people.

[Bicurico]

I am not aware that Google, Facebook or Tiktok have extorted any money.

I really wonder how much money can be gained from the collected data and if this revenue is "only" coming from ads.

[SiliconWizard]

I don't get the point of YT shorts. (Well, I do, but I wish I didn't.)

People can view them quickly on their shoe phone. 1 minute chunks of dopamine.

Yes I get that. I just think it promotes the quick consumption of "disposable" content, which is a wasteful behavior and contributes to degrading the attention span of people, which is already down to an alarmingly low level.

[EEVblog]

Yes I get that. I just think it promotes the quick consumption of "disposable" content, which is a wasteful behavior and contributes to degrading the attention span of people, which is already down to an alarmingly low level.

Yes, huge problem, and enough reason to ban it.
The REAL problem with TikTok though is that is the CCP have direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of western users. They literally have a "heat" button they can press to make anything trend, or hide things they don't want people to see.
They can literally flip western elections and influence western opinion as a result.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/01/20/tiktoks-secret-heating-button-can-make-anyone-go-viral/?sh=2852a47e6bfd

Coincidently, today's Dilbert, Robots Read News:

[rsjsouza]

I am not aware that Google, Facebook or Tiktok have extorted any money.

I really wonder how much money can be gained from the collected data and if this revenue is "only" coming from ads.

For decades the advertisement industry is what sponsors the internet and its "free" everything. Compare today's internet and the SW industry in general to the 1990s where really relevant content was placed behind paywalls and paid SW licenses were the norm, with some being Shareware and the rarer Freewares.

Nowadays you can download incredibly sophisticated games and applications paying absolutely nothing upfront.

[wilfred]

I don't get the point of YT shorts. (Well, I do, but I wish I didn't.)

People can view them quickly on their shoe phone. 1 minute chunks of dopamine.

Yes I get that. I just think it promotes the quick consumption of "disposable" content, which is a wasteful behavior and contributes to degrading the attention span of people, which is already down to an alarmingly low level.
 

TikTok didn't create wasteful behavior. Without a phone perpetually in hand when out and about they used to call it day-dreaming, but now you can watch a short video. But if it is a funny video that takes 30 seconds to view what is the difference between that and reading the comics in the newspaper? Maybe sheer volume perhaps.

That comic Dave posted is just what I was expecting Dilbert to evolve into. I'm slightly happier that it wasn't an actual Dilbert cartoon because it wasn't even trying to be funny or even deep and insightful.

I watched nearly a whole episode of coffee with scott adams when trying to find out the reasons behind Dilbert getting dumped. At well over an hour it was a test of my attention span given what I thought was unedifying and tiresome opinions being force fed to me. I skimmed about 3 others so I suppose that proves  my attention span was degraded afterwards.

I'd much prefer to watch someone blasting rock and crushing it for roadbuilding, or dragging a rusty forgotten excavator out of a forest for an hour. Which I'm prepared to concede is productive for them but disposable content and wasteful behavior for me. But at an hour at least it doesn't degrade my attention span.

[EEVblog]

TikTok didn't create wasteful behavior. Without a phone perpetually in hand when out and about they used to call it day-dreaming, but now you can watch a short video. But if it is a funny video that takes 30 seconds to view what is the difference between that and reading the comics in the newspaper? Maybe sheer volume perhaps.

You are force fed videos they think you want to see. In the case of TikTik the CCP have direct control over what videos get promoted and which ones don't.

That comic Dave posted is just what I was expecting Dilbert to evolve into. I'm slightly happier that it wasn't an actual Dilbert cartoon because it wasn't even trying to be funny or even deep and insightful.

Not deep and insightful? It's literally telling you what the main problem with TikTok is that hardly anyone mentions of knows about, in a witty robot way.
Yes this is not Dilbert, it's a deliberately seperate comis called Robot Reads News. It's funny because.... nah, forget it... if I have to explain it...

[wilfred]

It isn't funny because it says exactly what you might have expected it to say. Without having watched TT extensively (or at all really) I still doubt people who see shuffle dance videos will be constantly being fed videos of political content sympathetic to the CCP worldview. I went to TikTok and the second video was of a woman leaning out of an open car door and the driver unbuckled the seat-belt so the passenger fell out. And it didn't go up from there as I scrolled further. These TikTok viewers are not people who have political views.

If as the second panel says that the CCP pressed a button and American public opinions changed to racists are behind banning TT and Taiwan is part of China as China wants everyone to believe. It needs it to be credible that a: Americans currently are known to not believe those wanting to ban TT aren't racist and b: Americans (TT viewers at least) know where Taiwan is. Then in the third panel it says "our current understanding is..."  which means they are reporting public opinion actually changed  and therefore it is not the (mis)understanding of a bot reporter being reported.

Now if the cartoon was about an AI bot reading the news and making a clearly obvious error as has been pointed out recently that they a prone to do then I might have cut the cartoon a bit more slack.

Or if it established that the CCP believes the average TT viewer is fertile ground to plant its political views it might reveal a level of absurdity that strains credulity, then maybe it would have been a better cartoon.

So someone please do explain it to me. I'll listen.

[EEVblog]

So someone please do explain it to me. I'll listen.

 

[Circlotron]

I’m using Brave browser on an iPad and I couldn’t drag the puzzle piece to verify to watch the vid. Wouldn’t move at all.

[all_repair]

So someone please do explain it to me. I'll listen.

Agreed.  Induction theory.  If it is true and working as stated, there would not be such a hearing and therefore this thread.  So the button is either not working, or has a serious flaw in the algo.
Same thing can be said to any platform, including eevblog, to be asked to prove all impossibilities. 

[SiliconWizard]

I don't get the point of YT shorts. (Well, I do, but I wish I didn't.)

People can view them quickly on their shoe phone. 1 minute chunks of dopamine.

Yes I get that. I just think it promotes the quick consumption of "disposable" content, which is a wasteful behavior and contributes to degrading the attention span of people, which is already down to an alarmingly low level.
 

TikTok didn't create wasteful behavior.

No, of course not.
Only racists want to ban TikTok anyway.

[EEVblog]

So someone please do explain it to me. I'll listen.

Agreed.  Induction theory.  If it is true and working as stated, there would not be such a hearing and therefore this thread.  So the button is either not working, or has a serious flaw in the algo.
Same thing can be said to any platform, including eevblog, to be asked to prove all impossibilities.

 

[RoGeorge]

For those who find dissonance in EEVblog on TikTok, remember the Math Tutor guy:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dyp8wa/math-tutor-video-lessons-pornhub-changhsu
 

[magic]

They can literally flip western elections and influence western opinion as a result.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/01/20/tiktoks-secret-heating-button-can-make-anyone-go-viral/?sh=2852a47e6bfd

Meh, last year Russia was doing the same with Wikileaks

If you think that people are too dumb to make informed decisions and can be swayed by 30 seconds of propaganda, why even bother with democracy in the first place?

[SiliconWizard]

If you think that people are too dumb to make informed decisions and can be swayed by 30 seconds of propaganda, why even bother with democracy in the first place?

That's a question that has been around for at least 200 years. The answer to this has been representative democracy almost everywhere democracy has been installed, which is indirect democracy, and some would argue, is not really democracy anyway.

As to the ease with which people's opinions can be influenced, we have known that for thousands of years. This is nothing new.
And the pitfalls of most voting systems have been known for at least as long. Read Condorcet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condorcet_method

One key "benefit" of democracy - even if it's just apparent democracy - is that it lowers the risk of revolutions to an absolute minimum, allowing more long-term stability. The reality of a democratic power (power by the people) in modern democracies is at best questionable.

[magic]

The natural answer to democracy is oligarchy. Magnates fund newspapers, TV stations, universities, think tanks, social media, whatever applies in given era, which inform the masses what's "hot" and what "trends" and whom to elect to make the world hotter still. There is no problem with that and nobody ever complained, until foreign magnates or - God forbid governments - manage to capture a sizable audience, then it suddenly becomes a problem and an immediate threat to our democracy.

(BTW, the alleged direct CCP involvement is some tinfoil hat stuff, any evidence so far? Of course, there is undeniable indirect influence - things the CCP doesn't like simply wouldn't fly in China in the first place).

[Sredni]

Yes I get that. I just think it promotes the quick consumption of "disposable" content, which is a wasteful behavior and contributes to degrading the attention span of people, which is already down to an alarmingly low level.

Yes, huge problem, and enough reason to ban it.
The REAL problem with TikTok though is that is the CCP have direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of western users. They literally have a "heat" button they can press to make anything trend, or hide things they don't want people to see.
They can literally flip western elections and influence western opinion as a result.

What is the difference with Facebook?
Who pushes the button?

To be clear, I would ban both.

[BravoV]

Why bother the troubles to explain this and that for silly reasoning  , just say it ... its just plain sinophobe.   

[magic]

Yes, huge problem, and enough reason to ban it.
The REAL problem with TikTok though is that is the CCP have direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of western users. They literally have a "heat" button they can press to make anything trend, or hide things they don't want people to see.
They can literally flip western elections and influence western opinion as a result.

What is the difference with Facebook?
Who pushes the button?

To be clear, I would ban both.

Fun fact is that American media companies and even web search engines have been blatantly and openly manipulating American elections for yearsdecades.
Meanwhile TikTok is problematic because they could possibly do it, although the actual complaints so far are that they are promoting things they believe may bring them more revenue.

Maybe this is the difference between Capitalism operating under People's Democracy and a flat out Capitalists' Democracy

[BravoV]

Meanwhile TikTok is problematic because ...

Well, the campaign is now global, every kind of fault (kitchen sink included) that you could think of will be thrown to blame TikTok, smart eh ? 

Yes, it becomes so stupid and silly, like the weather balloon fiasco. 

Here at the Western battle's front at UK (Financial Times). 

[EEVblog]

Yes I get that. I just think it promotes the quick consumption of "disposable" content, which is a wasteful behavior and contributes to degrading the attention span of people, which is already down to an alarmingly low level.

Yes, huge problem, and enough reason to ban it.
The REAL problem with TikTok though is that is the CCP have direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of western users. They literally have a "heat" button they can press to make anything trend, or hide things they don't want people to see.
They can literally flip western elections and influence western opinion as a result.

What is the difference with Facebook?

Err, one is owned and directly controlled by the CCP, the other isn't.

[magic]

Yes, because obscure oligarchy behind a democratic facade is better than a uniparty dictatorship, somehow.

Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi


Americans would have a point if they actually stood for freedom of speech and equality themselves, but that's not what they do.
They just can't take what they have been aggressively dishing out to the whole world for years.
Openly acting against their own Cold War propaganda was a particularly egregious error.

I was one of those who told those stupid nerds that this will happen to them sooner or later.

Obligatory "death to America" because I think I haven't posted it this week yet.

[BravoV]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

[EEVblog]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

Never let a good crisis go to waste.
They should pass a bill that every future bill needs to be one page maximum. Impossible to slip stuff in.

[Ed.Kloonk]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

Never let a good crisis go to waste.
They should pass a bill that every future bill needs to be one page maximum. Impossible to slip stuff in.

Pass the bill. We'll look what's in it later.

[Sredni]

Yes I get that. I just think it promotes the quick consumption of "disposable" content, which is a wasteful behavior and contributes to degrading the attention span of people, which is already down to an alarmingly low level.

Yes, huge problem, and enough reason to ban it.
The REAL problem with TikTok though is that is the CCP have direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of western users. They literally have a "heat" button they can press to make anything trend, or hide things they don't want people to see.
They can literally flip western elections and influence western opinion as a result.

What is the difference with Facebook?

Err, one is owned and directly controlled by the CCP, the other isn't.

So, the only problem is who pushes the button.
Having direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of users. Having a "heat" [algorithm] that can be tailored to make anything trend, or to hide things they don't want people to see. Having the potentiality to literally flip elections and influence opinion as a result... is not a problem if it's in the hands of some tycoon or some board of billionaires.

I could understand this position if Facebook and Twitter were under direct government control (in which case, by the same logic, all other countries should ban or demand them to be sold to their governments), but to me the problem is that these platform are controlled by unelected subjects that have the potentiality to do all of the above.

[Sredni]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

I cannot really take seriously anything that has the word "true" and Tucker Carlson in it.
The best definition of that individual is "a millionaire who shills for billionaires", which brings us back again at the billionaire behind the curtain who is pushing the buttons (from down under, no less).

All I see in this video is a long winded excuse for him to be the mouthpiece of a foreign leader. Or should I say foreign "adversary"?
But who knows? Maybe some day we will get to read mails or messages where he admits he 'hates passionately' this other guy too...

[magic]

So, the only problem is who pushes the button.
Having direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of users. Having a "heat" [algorithm] that can be tailored to make anything trend, or to hide things they don't want people to see. Having the potentiality to literally flip elections and influence opinion as a result... is not a problem if it's in the hands of some tycoon or some board of billionaires.

Yeah, a bunch of button-pushers fighting each other and we are supposed to get excited and take sides.

In Poland there is a rule banning public discussion of elections/referenda when voting takes place and a day before, under penalty of a fine.

I think there is some merit to it, but it approaches the problem from the wrong side. Propaganda is a fact of life, and it will come from abroad even if you ban it domestically, but nobody is obliged to consume it. Everyone caught logging into social media for a week prior should be banned from voting, simple as that. All the terminally online social junkies, activists, SJWs, neonazis, you name it, they just couldn't resist. So many problems killed with one stone.

[SiliconWizard]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

Never let a good crisis go to waste.
They should pass a bill that every future bill needs to be one page maximum. Impossible to slip stuff in.

Should this one bill be one page maximum as well?

[BravoV]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

All I see in this video is a long winded excuse for him to be the mouthpiece of a foreign leader. Or should I say foreign "adversary"?

Well, for sure the proposed ban law for Tiktok includes ... its anti-circumvention clauses do seem to imply that offering or using a VPN or other means of attempting to circumvent a restriction on use of a restricted app or service could get you in the slammer for up to 20 years, or fined up to $1,000,000. 

There you go, enjoy your new law that will be tons better than the "authoritarian" China, or even better beats North Korea or Taliban. 

[John B]

Supporting techno-fascism to own the right wingers.

[eTobey]

Thinking about maybe doing more Youtube shorts.

DONT do this! Those videos are buggy to watch, and dont have much controls. Its only suitable for stupid videos. ALSO you get on the dark side, watching other stupid shorts, as those follow below.

Yes some of them are funny, or interesting, but in the end its a waste of time, and also quite addictive.

[Sredni]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

All I see in this video is a long winded excuse for him to be the mouthpiece of a foreign leader. Or should I say foreign "adversary"?

Well, for sure the proposed ban law for Tiktok includes ... its anti-circumvention clauses do seem to imply that offering or using a VPN or other means of attempting to circumvent a restriction on use of a restricted app or service could get you in the slammer for up to 20 years, or fined up to $1,000,000. 

There you go, enjoy your new law that will be tons better than the "authoritarian" China, or even better beats North Korea or Taliban. 

Is this restriction applied to ALL apps, or only to apps that are deemed a national security risk?
Because "SEEMS TO imply" is what a mouthpiece like T.C. would say to push his lies.

[magic]

ALL apps are a threat to national security unless regulated by the federal government and owned by the owners of the federal government, or at least their good buddies from friendly states

[SiliconWizard]

Of course, not everyone may have the same idea of what national security really is. Not even within the government itself.

[EEVblog]

Err, one is owned and directly controlled by the CCP, the other isn't.

So, the only problem is who pushes the button.
Having direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of users. Having a "heat" [algorithm] that can be tailored to make anything trend, or to hide things they don't want people to see. Having the potentiality to literally flip elections and influence opinion as a result... is not a problem if it's in the hands of some tycoon or some board of billionaires.

I never said it's NOT a problem, I'm saying the CCP is MORE of a problem, a LOT MORE of a problem, an UNACCEPTABLE problem. Anyone who doesn't see this risk is a fool.

[BravoV]

The true reason behind this TikTok as escape goat ...

All I see in this video is a long winded excuse for him to be the mouthpiece of a foreign leader. Or should I say foreign "adversary"?

Well, for sure the proposed ban law for Tiktok includes ... its anti-circumvention clauses do seem to imply that offering or using a VPN or other means of attempting to circumvent a restriction on use of a restricted app or service could get you in the slammer for up to 20 years, or fined up to $1,000,000. 

There you go, enjoy your new law that will be tons better than the "authoritarian" China, or even better beats North Korea or Taliban. 

Is this restriction applied to ALL apps, or only to apps that are deemed a national security risk?
Because "SEEMS TO imply" is what a mouthpiece like T.C. would say to push his lies.

[Sredni]

Err, one is owned and directly controlled by the CCP, the other isn't.

So, the only problem is who pushes the button.
Having direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of users. Having a "heat" [algorithm] that can be tailored to make anything trend, or to hide things they don't want people to see. Having the potentiality to literally flip elections and influence opinion as a result... is not a problem if it's in the hands of some tycoon or some board of billionaires.

I never said it's NOT a problem, I'm saying the CCP is MORE of a problem, a LOT MORE of a problem, an UNACCEPTABLE problem. Anyone who doesn't see this risk is a fool.

De gustibus...
I consider all threats to democracy equally unacceptable, be they foreign or domestic. And if you think about it, it's the domestic ones that are more likely to succeed. In the case of the US an authoritarian shift of government is much more likely to come from the right than from the left.
And then, of course, there's the hybrid approach: a foreign actor financing/covertly owning/blackmailing a domestic 'useful idiot'.

[Sredni]

Well, for sure the proposed ban law for Tiktok includes ... its anti-circumvention clauses do seem to imply that offering or using a VPN or other means of attempting to circumvent a restriction on use of a restricted app or service could get you in the slammer for up to 20 years, or fined up to $1,000,000. 

There you go, enjoy your new law that will be tons better than the "authoritarian" China, or even better beats North Korea or Taliban. 

Is this restriction applied to ALL apps, or only to apps that are deemed a national security risk?
Because "SEEMS TO imply" is what a mouthpiece like T.C. would say to push his lies.

From Wikipedia:

James Patrick Anthony Dore (born July 26, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, podcaster, YouTube personality, and conspiracy theorist.

I am not wasting 27 minutes of my life listening to a conspiracy theorist. The two minutes spent looking at the titles of his youtube channel are more than enough to convince me that it will be more productive to dig a hole in my garden and then fill it again.
So, let me rephrase my question: is this restriction put black on white on a bill, and if it is so, is its scope limited to apps that are deemed a national security risk (by a suitable government agency, not by someone somewhere)?

Because I have already seen this movie elsewhere: politician pretends to do the interest of big media corp. who financed their campaign/are lobbying for their interests/are actually bribing them and uses security as an excuse to insert clauses that could be used to prevent access to sites that are bad for the corp. business. Then these clauses are struck down, or get severely limited before the law gets approved. IF the l aw gets approved.

[SiliconWizard]

Err, one is owned and directly controlled by the CCP, the other isn't.

So, the only problem is who pushes the button.
Having direct persuasion control of hundreds of millions of users. Having a "heat" [algorithm] that can be tailored to make anything trend, or to hide things they don't want people to see. Having the potentiality to literally flip elections and influence opinion as a result... is not a problem if it's in the hands of some tycoon or some board of billionaires.

I never said it's NOT a problem, I'm saying the CCP is MORE of a problem, a LOT MORE of a problem, an UNACCEPTABLE problem. Anyone who doesn't see this risk is a fool.

De gustibus...
I consider all threats to democracy equally unacceptable, be they foreign or domestic. And if you think about it, it's the domestic ones that are more likely to succeed.

Agreed.

In the case of the US an authoritarian shift of government is much more likely to come from the right than from the left.

I don't think so.

[magic]

I think he is talking about the future, not the present

As much as I would love to see all those liberals sent to gulags by the very people they virtue signal for, this may not happen after al.

[EEVblog]

I am not wasting 27 minutes of my life listening to a conspiracy theorist. The two minutes spent looking at the titles of his youtube channel are more than enough to convince me that it will be more productive to dig a hole in my garden and then fill it again.

Jimmy Dore used to be a host on The Young Turks 
For those who don't know, TYT are about as radical far left as you get on Youtube, and famously so.
They actually used to be pretty good 6-7 years ago or so, but then went off the Overton window deep end.

[Bicurico]

I don't use TikTok and what I seem to understand about it, is that it is some kind of Youtube for short videos that works with some kind of credit system like Facebook. I guess it might be comparable with 9GAG?

I would really like to understand why TikTok poses such a huge risk, compared to other similar platforms?

I have seen many TikTok videos, sent through WhatsApp, Messenger, etc. Some are funny, some are not - mostly because you can quickly see that what is supposed to be a funny incident is actually a staged one. But I have not seen any danger in it, probably because I lack some extra information.

Also, what worries me more than TikTok and similar platforms is the fact that goverments understand that their population is stupid enough to be manipulated by Russia, China, etc. Even if this is the case, instead of making such platforms illegal/inaccessible, wouldn't it be better to increase awareness and analytic reasoning, instead? Why is no one complaining about the stupidification of our western societies? That worries me much more than any online platform or AI engine. Also, why is noboddy pointing out the fact that through these online platforms, minorities are able to influence their views in a quantity that is not relative to their percentage in population? I find it much more worrying that an unqualified person can publicly question peer reviewed scientific facts with only their "feeling".

So please enlighten me on why TikTok is dangerous, while the root cause is not discussed - the root cause being that people are less and less informed and defend opinions without any sustained facts, doing so on online platforms, where they reach an incredible audience.

Thank you.

[magic]

I would really like to understand why TikTok poses such a huge risk, compared to other similar platforms?

Because it isn't owned by Americans.

Why is no one complaining about the stupidification of our western societies?

Because it's not a problem, but the solution.
We just need the media to be socially responsible.
Kinda hard when they are in foreign hands, huh?

Also, why is noboddy pointing out the fact that through these online platforms, minorities are able to influence their views in a quantity that is not relative to their percentage in population? I find it much more worrying that an unqualified person can publicly question peer reviewed scientific facts with only their "feeling".

It's a good thing, because they fight the nazis for us.
You wouldn't want the nazis to win?

[RoGeorge]

It's a good thing, because they fight the nazis for us.
You wouldn't want the nazis to win?

That's propaganda.  Nazis lost long ago, it's almost a century since then.

[RoGeorge]

Trying to refute authoritative science by starting with an authoritative ad-hoc statement "For one thing, there are no scientific facts."?  Then using a recent pop word, 'factoid', to diminish the importance of peer review science.

For sure science can be questioned and should be questioned, and sometimes science might get things wrong and later fix the wrongs, but trying to "cancel" scientific facts is a very wrong attitude from you.  Those are not your own thoughts and conclusions.  Those were planted in you.  Somebody or something is misleading you.  That's propaganda.  Beware of it.

If science facts are factoids

factoid in American English
(ˈfækˌtɔɪd )
US
noun
a single fact or statistic variously regarded as being trivial, useless, unsubstantiated, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
fact + -oid
Word Frequency
factoid in American English
(ˈfæktɔid)
noun
1. an insignificant or trivial fact
2. something fictitious or unsubstantiated that is presente  Science and technology is what made the Internet possible.d as fact, devised esp. to gain publicity and accepted because of constant repetition
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
factoidal adjective
Word origin
[1973; fact + -oid]

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/factoid

then how come that we can post online?

It's science and technology what made that possible.  If science facts are factoids, must be some darn good factoids then, since they made computers possible.

My point is, science facts do exist.  They are valuable and real.
If you know a wrong scientific fact, please point it, so to be corrected.

Trying to diminish/deny/cancel science is damaging for you.
Don't let the propaganda speak through you.

[EEVblog]

I would really like to understand why TikTok poses such a huge risk, compared to other similar platforms?

The CCP literally have a "heat" button that can make anyting they want trend, and likewise anything they don't want to trend doesn't tend. That's literally direct control over what 80M americans see, either directly, or via slow and subtle influence. The first rule of persuasion is repetition.
Yes, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter etc can have a similar capability, but the US government does not have direct control over it. Ok, so the Twitter Files have shown that they have had some influence, but at least it's the US government enabled by a US company, not a foreign communist dictatorial goverment who is effectively your enemy.

That's not to mention to general erosion of society by the crap that is on TikTok. Go to China and use TikTok and see what content is on allowed there. Hint, it's not the crap that we see.

[wilfred]

The CCP literally have a "heat" button that can make anyting they want trend, and likewise anything they don't want to trend doesn't tend. That's literally direct control over what 80M americans see, either directly, or via slow and subtle influence. The first rule of persuasion is repetition.

Is it established beyond any doubt that this direct control by the CCP is actually true? Or is it just another conspiracy fear repeated so often as if it were true that noone questions it.

I've heard that TikTok like other social media can advance their commercial interests by trending videos for particular users. But how much of a stretch is it to the CCP stepping in directly? Has it been done already?

I thought the original fear surrounding TT was the collection of user data by China.

[EEVblog]

Is it established beyond any doubt that this direct control by the CCP is actually true? Or is it just another conspiracy fear repeated so often as if it were true that noone questions it.

I've heard that TikTok like other social media can advance their commercial interests by trending videos for particular users. But how much of a stretch is it to the CCP stepping in directly? Has it been done already?

I thought the original fear surrounding TT was the collection of user data by China.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/01/20/tiktoks-secret-heating-button-can-make-anyone-go-viral/?sh=6940f0506bfd

The data collection thing is one of the issues, but is essentially a red herring.
By the very nature of the system it's really hard to get proof what's actually being done. But everyone knows that all chinese companeis are ultimately 100% controlled by the CCP, and the large companies actively have CCP party members within the organistion to make sure things get done and execute orders from higher up.
Does anyone honestly believe that the CCP isn't going to manipulate a device that is in the hands of 80M americans? If so then I have a bridge to sell you.

[BravoV]

The CCP literally have a "heat" button that can make anyting they want trend, and likewise anything they don't want to trend doesn't tend. That's literally direct control over what 80M americans see, either directly, or via slow and subtle influence. The first rule of persuasion is repetition.

Is it established beyond any doubt that this direct control by the CCP is actually true? Or is it just another conspiracy fear repeated so often as if it were true that noone questions it.

I've heard that TikTok like other social media can advance their commercial interests by trending videos for particular users. But how much of a stretch is it to the CCP stepping in directly? Has it been done already?

I thought the original fear surrounding TT was the collection of user data by China.

How dare you, stop challenging or asking like that, heck, even doubting it in your mind will "AUTOMATICALLY" turns you into CCP shill. 

Stop doubting the "ultimate truth". 

Looking at the current scene, I guess you guys Ozzies down there are ready to be a nuke shield against the evil CCP, for the sake fighting CCP until the last Ozzies, for America.   

/sarc

[Bicurico]

I would really like to understand why TikTok poses such a huge risk, compared to other similar platforms?

The CCP literally have a "heat" button that can make anyting they want trend, and likewise anything they don't want to trend doesn't tend. That's literally direct control over what 80M americans see, either directly, or via slow and subtle influence. The first rule of persuasion is repetition.
Yes, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter etc can have a similar capability, but the US government does not have direct control over it. Ok, so the Twitter Files have shown that they have had some influence, but at least it's the US government enabled by a US company, not a foreign communist dictatorial goverment who is effectively your enemy.

That's not to mention to general erosion of society by the crap that is on TikTok. Go to China and use TikTok and see what content is on allowed there. Hint, it's not the crap that we see.

Thanks Dave. I now understand the rant against TikTok.
Still, I would prefer western governments to educate people, instead of deciding what they are allowed to see.
It always amazes me, when visiting the UK, that some of my default webpages of my browser won't open, because they are considered unfit. I am talking about online forums about hacking and cyber security.
Of course I can circumvent the limitation easily, but why have such restrictions in the first place?
The same happens in Portugal, too. Local DNS providers filter Piratebay and similar, so everyone just uses Google's DNS. But then the USA will monitor what you are doing instead of your government...

[RoGeorge]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/01/20/tiktoks-secret-heating-button-can-make-anyone-go-viral/?sh=6940f0506bfd

Heating also reveals that, at least sometimes, videos on the For You page aren’t there because TikTok thinks you’ll like them; instead, they're there because TikTok wants a particular brand or creator to get more views. And without labels, like those used for ads and sponsored content, it’s impossible to tell which is which.

OK.  How is that different from YouTube recommended/promoted videos?

Employees have also abused heating privileges. Three sources told Forbes they were aware of instances where heating was used improperly by employees; one said that employees have been known to heat their own or their spouses’ accounts in violation of company policy. Documents reviewed by Forbes showed that employees have heated their own accounts, as well as accounts of people with whom they have personal relationships.

Twitter did the same and much more.  Facebook did some things regarding Brexit, and so on.  The entire article is a big "we don't like TikTok because it's not under our control".  TikTok might be bad, but nothing is revealed there.  "Three insiders told us", not 2, not 4, precisely 3.  And how is that relevant?  What this article reveals?  That TikTok does the same as other social media platforms?  How is that a reason to propose dystopian Internet laws?  Because a TikTok admin promoted own uncle's video we should ban VPN?  WTF?

I got it, they fear TikTok might take all their users, and their direct influence upon users.  Fair enough to not like competition.

What I don't understand is what experiment is going on there, in Australia.  It's some cleverly crafted instigation going on there, I think.  Even here, on EEVblog, I've seen once a threat to nuke China, in a fight between two keyboard warriors.  The anger levels against China seem to be very high in Australia.  It seems to me like something, or somebody, is heating up Australia against China, and that is happening at higher rates than on other continents, no idea why.

[Ed.Kloonk]

What I don't understand is what experiment is going on there, in Australia.  It's some cleverly crafted instigation going on there, I think.  Even here, on EEVblog, I've seen once a threat to nuke China, in a fight between two keyboard warriors.  The anger levels against China seem to be very high in Australia.  It seems to me like something, or somebody, is heating up Australia against China, and that is happening at higher rates than on other continents, no idea why.

It's mostly coming from our corrupt, lock-step media. Because reporting on facts and the true state of the world is boring.

[SiliconWizard]

Does anyone honestly believe that the CCP isn't going to manipulate a device that is in the hands of 80M americans? If so then I have a bridge to sell you.

Of course. Now what I'm still not sure about is the intentions of the CCP. While pretty totalitarian in nature, I have no clue what their plans are really outside of their own borders.
I mean, while the US has had a pretty clear strategy of exporting their model wherever they could, China hasn't really shown such a thing.
I may be wrong though. It's pretty opaque what they do.

My impression is that whatever they would do to manipulate foreign countries would be strictly to defend their own rather than try to "take over the world".
Not that it necessarily makes such manipulation more acceptable, but just a thought.
And this is just an impression - I have zero clue what their plans are for the future.

And TikTok is a plague whatever there is behind it.

[wilfred]

The data collection thing is one of the issues, but is essentially a red herring.
By the very nature of the system it's really hard to get proof what's actually being done. But everyone knows that all chinese companeis are ultimately 100% controlled by the CCP, and the large companies actively have CCP party members within the organistion to make sure things get done and execute orders from higher up.
Does anyone honestly believe that the CCP isn't going to manipulate a device that is in the hands of 80M americans? If so then I have a bridge to sell you.

Well I don't discount the CCP might manipulate 80M Americans TikTok users. But, what would they stand to gain from it? I am far more likely to believe CCP members within the ranks of a large business are there to get rich. In which case they would benefit from the business success as a money making venture free from close scrutiny of foreign regulators.

If you see the Chinese premier starting a campaign to weed out corrupt party officials then you can be sure money is at the bottom of it. Whether it is fear of the people getting angry seeing party officials taking bribes and disadvantaging ordinary people through unfavourable decisions. Or a personal fear that overt corruption will derail the gravy train he himself rides on.

The great fear of the CCP is losing power. Therin lies the reasons they would do something. China has an imbalanced aging population demographic and insufficient local resources to ensure ongoing economic growth at levels that will ensure the people gain increased living standards at a rate that guarantees peaceful social compliance. This fear was demonstrated with the social unrest surrounding the COVID zero policy, and it is significant that the government relaxed the policy pretty smartly in response to the outpouring of dissent.

China has at least as many internal problems as America to confront that will not be solved by manipulating TikTok users. America is in an irreversible "decline of empire" and shows all the signs it is on a mirror trajectory of all past great empires. It too will join them. Both superpowers will begin to fade in supremacy and China will not enjoy a position on top for long if at all.

1.Creation of debt
2.Internal conflict
3.Massive rise in military spending as a percentage of GDP to preserve existing power

America suffers all of these and China is struggling to suppress the second and will spend more on military in an attempt to grasp supremacy as a world superpower.
The surest way the CCP can ensure internal unrest is not a problem for their hold on power, is to ensure economic growth is strong. TikTok as a viable business is part of that strategy. Positioning themselves at the heart of global supply chains is another. Hence the US semiconductor policy and US funding of Australian rare earths supply and so on.

Scaremongering and conspiracy theories about TikTok is just another distraction.

[Sredni]

America is in an irreversible "decline of empire" and shows all the signs it is on a mirror trajectory of all past great empires. It too will join them. Both superpowers will begin to fade in supremacy and China will not enjoy a position on top for long if at all.

Antarctica will rise!
Then we'll teach all you northerners the real meaning of 'cold war'!!!

[Ed.Kloonk]

I've always been suspicious of those little damn penguins.

[all_repair]

It is a religion to anti-Tiktok.  No need evidences, and ignore past evidences.  No reasoning needed, is a faith.  Keep it.

[RoGeorge]

Antarctica will rise!

"Here be Monsters" 


Aliens!  I knew it. 

[EEVblog]

Well I don't discount the CCP might manipulate 80M Americans TikTok users. But, what would they stand to gain from it?

*darth vader voice* I find your lack of imagination disturbing.

[EEVblog]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/01/20/tiktoks-secret-heating-button-can-make-anyone-go-viral/?sh=6940f0506bfd

Heating also reveals that, at least sometimes, videos on the For You page aren’t there because TikTok thinks you’ll like them; instead, they're there because TikTok wants a particular brand or creator to get more views. And without labels, like those used for ads and sponsored content, it’s impossible to tell which is which.

OK.  How is that different from YouTube recommended/promoted videos?

For at least the third and final time I've said this, the CCP does not own or control Youtube. The problem is entirely about who owns and controls TikTok.
It's a similar reason why many countries have banned certain Huawei and other chinese brand products in certain markets.
e.g.:
https://www.androidauthority.com/huawei-google-android-ban-988382/

How can it be fine to ban chinese CCP controlled tech products like this, but allow a chinese CCP owned and controlled app designed to influence to literally be in the hands of 80M americans?

[Sredni]

It is relatively easy to audit the contents of the TikTok app. The entire binary is available for disassembly and can be examined + disassembled with any laptop. Doing an analysis to the same degree of completeness on a piece of silicon is nearly impossible, let alone doing this on every piece of every silicon part ever made that ended up in a Huawei phone.

I'm not sure how the ranking/censoring works, but my guess is that the code of the local app could be perfectly fine and you could still have malicious code on the servers the app talks to. I mean, Youtube could delete all videos of the EEVBlog without the need to install code on Dave's phone.

I agree with Dave that an app like Tiktok is dangerous, I only disagree on the tolerance towards similar apps like Facebook and Twitter (which have already shown their dark side).

[EEVblog]

It is relatively easy to audit the contents of the TikTok app. The entire binary is available for disassembly and can be examined + disassembled with any laptop. Doing an analysis to the same degree of completeness on a piece of silicon is nearly impossible, let alone doing this on every piece of every silicon part ever made that ended up in a Huawei phone.

The algorithm over what gets displayed is not in the app binary.

[EEVblog]

I agree with Dave that an app like Tiktok is dangerous, I only disagree on the tolerance towards similar apps like Facebook and Twitter (which have already shown their dark side).

I think people in power should lose their job or even go to jail for what's been revealed in the Twitter Files and other things. There should not be any partisan politics involved in the moderation of any social media. These absolutely need to be neutral platforms.
TikTok needs to be treated especially harshly because of who owns and controls it. If that appears as "tolerance" toward the other platforms then so be it.

[EEVblog]

Aliens!  I knew it. 

https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_Antarctica

[RoGeorge]

Romanian George: science isn't justified by authority. It's justified by evidence. If a newer theory is supported better by the evidence than an older one, the older one can be overturned. The word "fact" is something we use to teach children the difference between an intentionally true and an intentionally false statement. I am not going to descend into Plato's cave any further with you on this one.

I didn't say that.  Why didn't you say you were having a cave in mind?
The word "fact" means something else.  Look it up in a dictionary:  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fact
Its main meaning is "something that has actual existence".

I've explicitly wrote:  science can be questioned and should be question.  However, you'll have to come with even more accurate facts than the established ones you want to dismiss.  Claiming there are no scientific facts, and claiming that based only on philosophy, doesn't hold.

I find it much more worrying that an unqualified person can publicly question peer reviewed scientific facts with only their "feeling".

For one thing, there are no scientific facts. There are factoids and there are theories. If something cannot be questioned, it isn't a scientific thing, it's a commandment or religious symbol.

Anyway, seems I was wright those are not your own thoughts, though they were not woke propaganda, but Plato taken too literally.  The physical world, and facts, do exist.  Even if we perceive only a minuscule part of the entire physicality of this Universe, those are not factoids, whatever that would mean (I didn't read the novel that coined the word factoid).  Incomplete information doesn't imply wrongness.

Remember Plato was kind of crazy:

Plato was quite obsessed with this idea that pure thought is the highest and most noble thing in human life. In the Timaeus he elaborates on this idea in a rather amusing and poetic way. To philosophise is the purpose of life. Human anatomy is merely an appendix to the soul and the mind. “The entire body” was created “as its vehicle,” Plato says. That is to say, the body exists only to make philosophising possible.

For example, consider the intestines of the human digestive system. They are very long and winding, right? Like you roll up an extension cord when putting it away in a drawer; it looks like that in our insides. Food doesn’t go in a straight line from the mouth and out the other end. Instead the body passes it through the intestines that go back and forth, back and forth, a very long distance.

Plato thinks he knows why. Here’s how he explains it: “The intestines are wound round in coils to prevent the nourishment from passing through so quickly that the body would of necessity require fresh nourishment just as quickly, there by rendering it insatiable. Such gluttony would make our whole race incapable of philosophy and the arts, and incapable of heeding the most divine part within us.”

So the human body is just a means to an end. The only thing worth anything is philosophy. Eating doesn’t have any value in itself. The only purpose of eating is to put off the annoying needs of the body for a while, so as to give us time to think.

Source:  https://intellectualmathematics.com/blog/what-makes-a-good-axiom/

[all_repair]

It is relatively easy to audit the contents of the TikTok app. The entire binary is available for disassembly and can be examined + disassembled with any laptop. Doing an analysis to the same degree of completeness on a piece of silicon is nearly impossible, let alone doing this on every piece of every silicon part ever made that ended up in a Huawei phone.

At least you are consistence.  The intelligence units go beyond that.  MI6 has people planted in Huawei, and the Brit didn't want to remove Huawei until pressured and promised that US would foot the full bill of the replacement.  It would not be surprising that CIA and MI6 have people planted inside TikTok.  But religion need no evidences. 

The only thing that is puzzling is when a usual rational being become irrational,  is propaoganda or something else that is working.

[Bud]

Why do you guys even watch that TikTok garbage 
(No need to reply, that was a rhetorical question.)

[RoGeorge]

Aliens!  I knew it. 

https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_Antarctica

Fun fact, Romania has an Antarctic Base.  Guess how?  Australia gave it to Romania.  Not kidding.
"All your base are belong to us" 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law-Racovi%C8%9B%C4%83-Negoi%C8%9B%C4%83_Station

[EEVblog]

Why do you guys even watch that TikTok garbage 
(No need to reply, that was a rhetorical question.)

I'll reply anyway. I have never used it nor installed it.
I did create a channel as I do on all platforms so that no one can steal it. And I did upload one video as a test of the supposed artifical "first TikTok" view boost, but that's it.
I have been watching a few Shorts lately on Youtube because they are always in your face. Even if you disable the Shorts bar it comes back 30 days later.
As such I can actually see the appeal of short bite-sized clips in the vertical shoe phone format. You get that dopamine hit in under a minute.

[helius]

Plato was mainly a philosopher of ethics and government; students didn't read him to learn about human anatomy. If you wanted to learn how the ancient world regarded such subjects, you would read Democritus or Aristotle. Of course their understanding is not the same as ours today, but at least they were serious about observing the physical world. Plato was not the kind of philosopher who did that.
Invoking "Plato's Cave" in the context above is confusing precisely because Plato's epistemology is so different from most modern epistemology. For Plato, the only real truth is in eternal Forms which are by their nature outside the physical world. The shadows on the wall are all that the inhabitants of the Cave ever see, because the Forms (the only real truth) are not visible objects.
Platonism is more familiar to mathematicians who are accustomed to manipulating formal axiomatic systems. And many would still aver that the theorems in mathematics are "more true" than those mere "facts" gleaned from some limited observations of the local sliver of the universe.

[BravoV]

What I don't understand is what experiment is going on there, in Australia.  It's some cleverly crafted instigation going on there, I think.  Even here, on EEVblog, I've seen once a threat to nuke China, in a fight between two keyboard warriors.  The anger levels against China seem to be very high in Australia.  It seems to me like something, or somebody, is heating up Australia against China, and that is happening at higher rates than on other continents, no idea why.

You should visit Australia to understand and believe it, they (Ozzies) are constantly being bombarded by they main stream medias, either by private and government funded/backed, on 24/7 on China invasion, China is devil, China must be eliminated etc (you get the idea), all courtesy of US (its no secret).

They are being "prepared" to fight the evil CCP until the last Ozzies. 

Thats why Australia is known to be US 1st layer of nuke shield, as they will get the 1st nuke strike, if US fight China, I guess "some" of them must be proud. 

You're Romanian, I bet you are fully aware similar scheme in Eastern Europe, like that Poles (Poland) are well prepared as 1st nuke shield for NATO and US, against Russia. Now Finland already in the list just recently.

Oh, btw, its no secret too, some of the red necks there believed those Taiwanese in Taiwan island are anglo saxon white race, not that icky yellowed skin slanted eyes "thing", that Taiwan deserved to be protected, that if needed, they will volunteer to fight there, yes, personally I heard this talk in radio talk show while I was there in Oz. 

Trust me, just try watch Australia's medias say like from Youtube to get an idea. Real life at ground zero is more ... "exciting" to experience dystopia. 

[EEVblog]

What I don't understand is what experiment is going on there, in Australia.  It's some cleverly crafted instigation going on there, I think.  Even here, on EEVblog, I've seen once a threat to nuke China, in a fight between two keyboard warriors.  The anger levels against China seem to be very high in Australia.  It seems to me like something, or somebody, is heating up Australia against China, and that is happening at higher rates than on other continents, no idea why.

You should visit Australia to understand and believe it, they (Ozzies) are constantly being bombarded by they main stream medias, either by private and government funded/backed, on 24/7 on China invasion, China is devil, China must be eliminated etc (you get the idea), all courtesy of US (its no secret).

LOL, nope.
Any anti-china sentiment here in Australia is in relation to our national religion, property, and their infulence on our economy.
Be it the endless Chinese students clogging (and financially propping up) our universities, and the subsequent taking of rental apartments and properties causing a rentla crisis here.
Or Chinese captial investment in property inflating prices out of control.
Or the chinese buying our farmland and other vital infrastructure.
etc etc
They are our biggest trading partner, and they often walk all over us.

Thats why Australia is known to be US 1st layer of nuke shield, as they will get the 1st nuke strike, if US fight China, I guess "some" of them must be proud. 

LOL, hardly.

[helius]

Recent diplomatic news is that China brokered a détenté between Iran and Saudi Arabia, promising to end the proxy war in Yemen (or at least create a frozen conflict). Comparing this achievement to those of the "West", who by all accounts wish to multiply and prolong proxy wars wherever possible, presents a very stark difference to the citizens of the world.

[zrq]

I would really like to understand why TikTok poses such a huge risk, compared to other similar platforms?

That's not to mention to general erosion of society by the crap that is on TikTok. Go to China and use TikTok and see what content is on allowed there. Hint, it's not the crap that we see.

I'm doubting this. My sibling in China have been using Douyin for a while and she shared many stories with me. I also tried it myself for a brief time and didn't manage to convince their algorithm that I'm not stupid enough to watch these. I'm pretty sure the content pushed to the Chinese by them is also crap.

I'm not going to find any excuse for TikTok/Douyin, it deserves to be banned from the earth, including China itself.

[BravoV]

Here, your beloved Australian's SkyNEWS TV .... 

Geez  ... the brain washing is so intense. 

I guess in down under there people are shouting .. How dare China be so close to US military bases! Shame on them !!! 

[Sredni]

I thought this might fit here

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65817608

TikTok's owner ByteDance has been accused of allowing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members to access the data of Hong Kong civil rights activists and protesters.

Users who uploaded "protest-related content" were also identified and monitored, former ByteDance executive Yintao Yu alleges in a US court filing.
The CCP members were also able to access US TikTok user data, Mr Yu says.

A ByteDance spokesperson denied the claims, describing them as "baseless".
The allegations are contained in a San Francisco Superior Court filing made this week as part of a lawsuit brought by Mr Yu.

In the filing, Mr Yu claimed that members of a CCP committee had access to a "superuser" credential, which was also known as "god user", which allowed them to view all data collected by ByteDance.
He also alleged that the committee members were not ByteDance employees but were physically present at the company's offices in Beijing.

For some reason I have no problem in believing Mr Yu. 

[SiliconWizard]

But Big Brother loves you.
 

The CCP is a fully orwellian construct. While I personally don't mean to tell other countries what they should do within their own borders - so China can be orwellian to their heart's content - I certainly won't like for them to get past their borders for this kind of uh, delicacies.

Thanks in advance.