TikTok itself is owned by ByteDance, but is incorporated in the Caymans. It has corporate entities in Singapore, Australia, the US, and the UK. The CEO is US based. Data is collected in Singapore, not China. There is a little evidence someone at ByteDance has access to the info, but according to official statements and documents they do not. But, even if they are lying, China can still buy that information from data brokers just like the US Government does right now.
We need privacy protection laws, not arbitrary bans of apps that do the same thing as US social media apps
RavenFellBlade@startrek.website 7 months ago
60% of ByteDance is owned by global investors, most of which are based in the US. 20% is owned by the original co-founders, none of whom have any ties to the CCP, and the remaining 20% is owned by employees, almost all of which are in California. The overwhelming majority of the company is already owned by Americans. This entire thing is all about trying to silence a source of information that challenges and refutes government interests, particularly where Palestine is concerned.
thingsiplay@beehaw.org 7 months ago
None of this changes the fact that the operational headquarter of the company is in China and that they collect data that is send to China. Therefore China gets all the data from US citizen, regardless of who the investor is.
Vodulas@beehaw.org 7 months ago
Except the operational headquarters is not in China. LA and Singapore are the operational headquarters of TikTok. I think you are conflating ByteDance and TikTok as the same entity, and that is not the case, and quite on purpose. TikTok is a subsidiary of ByteDance, and from almost all accounts the LA based CEO makes decisions. They are not sending data to China, they are sending it to Singapore. There are alleged cases of ByteDance employees having access, but nothing has been proven (not saying it won’t be, but we can’t operate on speculation). Also, data brokers exist. China can get “all the data from US citizens” outside of TikTok.
I am not sure if you are oversimplifying on purpose, but if not you should probably look closer at the corporate structure of TikTok instead of spreading incorrect info.
thingsiplay@beehaw.org 7 months ago
Where do you get the information you are spreading? I would like to learn more if you know good sources.
How can you judge and say it is incorrect, if you don’t actually know all details? Your opinion is not much more correct. What you probably mean is, I should not spread info that is not proven to be correct.
If it’s not proven, then you are speculating that China does not get the data as well. If that was correct what you are saying, then the US government would not ban Tik Tok. Especially you follow up with a statement
which is probably harder and more complicated than just getting it from Tik Tok. ByteDance is a company for collecting information, so its right in the hands of China.