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I'm not here to claim that Tiktok is completely harmless, or that it's even a good site. I'm sure they absolutely do collect as much personal information as they can, and I'm sure they give it to the Chinese government whenever they ask. But I don't understand how Meta and Facebook are meant to be any better? There's always a lot of hoo-haa going on with politicians promising to ban tiktok, and (at least back on Reddit) everybody's vowing they will never use tiktok because it's such a privacy invasive site. Yet I never see anybody going up against Facebook, at least the average person, but they collect just as much personal info and I'm sure hand it over whenever any government agency in the US asks them to

It kind of feels to me like this is some sort of country thing. China is bad, so they shouldn't have your personal info. But the US is the last bastion of free speech and privacy, so their companies would NEVER dare to invade your privacy, and their government would never abuse their power to get people's personal info

I'm aware Lemmy probably isn't the best place to ask since most people here seem to be deep into open source software and often privacy focused (so I suppose wouldn't use either) but this also feels like the only place on the internet I might actually get an answer that isn't just "TIKTOK BAD". If you refuse to use tiktok but are ok with Facebook - why?

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[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

Facebook is not fine, no one is saying that, and because you're lying to say that's being said I stopped reading.

TikTok is bad because the Chinese government directly owns part of it and they are an insanely authoritarian and oppressive government. Do you really not know that?

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[-] guyrocket@kbin.social 3 points 11 months ago
[-] lorty@lemmy.ml 3 points 11 months ago

China is the enemy, therefore when they do it it's bad.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Personally, I think they're all bad. the US is not nearly as bad as the CCP is, in regards to privacy and what they do with personal information. (the US might wish it had china's capability, though.) the CCP uses digital information to the extent of having an AI that watches everything you do- including CCTV recordings and everywhere you physically go; tracking what doors you use, in a broad surveillance campaign. (frequently, Uyghur Muslims are targets,).

They also have agents show up to live with you- if they think you're particularly... whatever...

China also uses the intel gleaned on TikTok to target people of interest; etc, and you're an idiot if you think TikTok's data it gleans on you doesn't go straight to the CCP. It also gets alot more information than you think- including other devices on your network, etc.

All that said; Meta/Facebook, twitter. Whoever. They're all selling their data to the CCP, too. and to the US. And to everyone else.

if you care about your data, the only real choice you have is to not use those services. at all.

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[-] Zagorath@aussie.zone 2 points 11 months ago

One other reason that I'm surprised not to have seen anyone has already brought up is the degree of government involvement. There's the perception (whether it's true or not) that a business run in China is necessarily on the lookout for the government's best interests and possibly directly interfered with by the government. The same perception says that's not true in America, where the only time the government is involved is through direct known legislation & regulation, or via espionage operations done against the company's will. There's an absence of fear that, for example, the company will be manipulating its algorithm for the government's gain. (Instead, it's purely manipulated for the company's shareholders' gain, which is oh so much better, right? Right?)

[-] ReallyKinda@kbin.social 2 points 11 months ago

facebook is a US company and has a high incentive to reasonably adhere to US regulations and consumer protection laws, especially when it comes to US citizens. Tik-Tok is not a US company and is not incentivized to reasonably adhere to US regulations and consumer protection laws.

Both companies might share your information, but if you live in the US you would have SOME legal standing if a US company did something out of line with your data. If Tik-Tok decided to publicize all your messages I don’t imagine there is much you could do. If facebook did you could probably get a reasonable lawsuit going.

[-] njordomir@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I can't speak to the privacy aspect, but its at least possible to interact with Facebook in a less algorithmized way, especially if you turn off the news feed and just search for interests or visit grandma's page. Ticktock, from what I understand, just profiles you into boxes and proceeds to shovel a stream of swill into your trough until you are maximally isolated and radicalized in your echo chamber. I think it's crazy to trust either and I'm glad to see GenZ shunning FB a little more. I avoided Ticktock, but do have a Facebook account.

I think how you interact with the sites can effect ~perception~ of privacy.

[-] TheInsane42@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Tiktok is bad because it's Chineese, Facebook is 'good' because it's American.

Alas, that's all.

I used Facebook because everybody I know uses it. My wife and me are the 1st to delete that account, as we hate the constant tracking of Facebook. Alas, Google is even worse, but as Android user we're linked to that. I'm trying to minimize contact there as well, but it's hard with purchased apps and content.

For some strange reason having your own country or 'friendly' countries and their companies track you is 'good' and when less friendly countries or their companies do that it's 'bad'. When somewhat privacy minded, all tracking is bad.

When someone tels me they have nothing to hide, I'll ask if they would like a camera in their bathroom or bedroom, as they have nothing to hide. All say that's an unfair comparison, but it shows that there is nobody that has nothing they waht to keep private.

For me, US companies are even worse then the Chineese ones, as US companies will try to enforce US law and morals upon it's users. (But I don't trust either)

[-] loakang@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

For the most part, I 90% agree with your stance. However, you can't take the statement "I have nothing to hide" literally to the extremes. That would be suggesting that the person is okay giving you the passwords for their bank accounts under the guide that they have nothing to hide.

It's a common colloquial expression which expresses how one accepts the situation as is. I've got nothing to hide doesn't mean that I then consent to a strip search or house search, those are uncomfortable and inconvenient. You can't always apply the same single justification to support multiple separate events, because you need the full context. Imagine "can I borrow a dollar? sure thing, you're my friend" Well whoops, you've now just given your friend complete reign over all your money for as long as the friend title exists

A more accurate interpretation here is "They're not collecting any information that I'm embarrassed about"

Sorry, language is messy and oftentimes there are differences between literal and intended meaning. I just wanted to point out why it is indeed, an unfair comparison. You can achieve your point without attacking someone's (as I argue) correct statement when taken in context, since your underlying point still stands that the majority of people have some limit of sharing information that they would not be comfortable with.

[-] TheInsane42@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

For the most part, I 90% agree with your stance. However, you can’t take the statement “I have nothing to hide” literally to the extremes. That would be suggesting that the person is okay giving you the passwords for their bank accounts under the guide that they have nothing to hide.

Nop . that's not what I meant. What I indicate with the camera in the bathroom is, would you trust the government to be able to watch to keep you safe and do a perfect job at keeping your data safe? Over here (Netherlands) it's even illegal for the government to fit camera's on spots where they can look into houses. (those video doorbells are illegal as well and a pest)

To use your anology, would you be at ease when your banking website is forced to use http instead of https because https is encryption and encryption is bad, so not allowed by your government. When you use encryption, you have something to hide (your banking password) and thus are a criminal. Would you accept that situation, knowing that either de government can collect all your data or a company or even worse, criminals?

A more accurate interpretation here is “They’re not collecting any information that I’m embarrassed about”

When they collect 'all data', there is bound to be something you wouldn't want to share freely, say your banking password. (amongst others). People always have something to hide, even as simple as being in the street while picking your nose when a google maps car drives by (let alone kicing that nice neighbour while married).

Knowing that government/companies/criminals can take/gather information from/about you without telling you exactly what they do with it (even when you trust them enough to keep to their words) is bad.

When I ask you for your banking password it's your choice to either give it to me as you trust me (bad choice, but your choice). When companies entise you to give them access to all information they can gather (including your banking password) and then dowith it as they like takes away the choice.

Sorry, language is messy and oftentimes there are differences between literal and intended meaning. I just wanted to point out why it is indeed, an unfair comparison. You can achieve your point without attacking someone’s (as I argue) correct statement when taken in context, since your underlying point still stands that the majority of people have some limit of sharing information that they would not be comfortable with.

Yep, language is messy (especially when the language used is not your main language), but I use the literal meaning to point out that everybody has something to hide. How they look underneath clothes is for most a pretty private detail they share with a limited group of people. Giving a company/government access to those details are generally accepted as bad, but most don't see data gathering as taking away privacy rights, as long as it's 'for a good cause'. Privacy should never be taken away from everybody because 'the cause is good' or given away easily (and no, neither tiktok or facebook are a good cause).

Everybody has something to hide, so it's everybody has the right for privacy. That right can be revoked under very specific curcomstances, but only when there is enough cause to suspect criminal behaviour.

[-] Mango@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Facebook is shit, but they're only shit for money. China wants to literally dominate the world.

[-] TheLobotomist@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

How is the US a bastion of free speech???

[-] ksgt69@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago

Meta/FB doesn't want anyone else sound what they do

[-] mypasswordis1234@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

That's because all those boomers don't use TikTok so it's easy for them to say that "it's bad and privacy invading". However, when you have to accept that the platform you rely on so much is bad, it's not so easy to say "it's bad and privacy invading".

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

TIL people born before 1985 are all boomers

[-] TheInsane42@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Nop, Wikipedia shows that the term is dependent on the country and/orregion woth for the US being the '40-'50 the period, most ending tha boomer period before the '70s and fance being the only one as late as '73 to end that period.

That it's highly misused by the last generations as they don't understand the earlier ones. It would be just as bad to call everybody born after '65 milennial.

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[-] TheInsane42@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

WTF would you rely on tiktok/facebook for something (or anything)?

I rely on my phone to be able to call somebody (or emergency services) when I need to, I rely on my transport to get me where I need to go and I rely on the grocery stores to provide food (alas, garden is not ig enough to grow it myself)

Anything on internet is optional, very entertaining and fun, but optional.

[-] habitualTartare@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Coming from someone who uses neither currently but has used Facebook before, I think it's more to do with the fact that people are used to Facebook, Google and other companies collecting data. Facebook does a ton of lobbying to tell you just how much they value privacy.

Facebooks data policies are supposed to follow US law. As you already mentioned, I won't go any further on that. With a foreign country that isn't exactly super friendly with the US, they could use this same data against citizens. You have no real GDPR, or US privacy laws to protect you if China decides to target a diplomats family or whatever.

For most people, it's probably not going to affect you either way, but because data is something we really don't understand the full value of. As an Example, ethnic groups could be targeted and tiktok can be used as a data source.

With the whole Facebook being used to potentially manipulate elections, Tiktok could be as well and the US/other countries have even less they can do to stop it.

But a lot of the hate that you're seeing on the news is playing into China bad and not really casting light that they are okay with US companies collecting the same data. See: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/17/brexit-voter-manipulation-eu-referendum-social-media

https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-censor-china-critical-content-uighur-uighurs-2020-11?op=1

[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Xenophobia mostly. Facebook is not fine. Neither is google. None of it is.

All your data in those major providers gets vacuumed up directly by the NSA.

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

Yeah what made me so racist against the Chinese was reading about tiananmen square. Being cautious about an authoritarian government is definitely being a horrible bigot! /s

[-] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 11 months ago

Because boomers use Facebook.

I don't use either.

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this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
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