• SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip
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    9 months ago
    1. TikTok, regardless of the country of origin, is known to be spyware on a much greater level than everything else on this list. It collects every click, interaction, and even your clipboard, among other things, sometimes while not using the app.

    2. Yes, this kind of data harvesting should be illegal for Google, Facebook, etc. Do something about it, US government. Unfortunately our next best option is to use FOSS where possible.

  • Zerush@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    Spying on user data is a constitutional right of US companies, what are the poor going to live on when they can’t traffic with your data, or when a disgusting red communist company steals their bread? A little more proper patriotism, guys. Bad enough that the EU is cutting the wings of this companies, therefore also don’t use EU apps to make America great again.

  • davel [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    This forced sale of TikTok for national security is a farce because they were already forced to move their service to the US on an American-owned hosting provider, and they have already put people with a history of aligning with “American interests” into executive positions, like CEO Shou Zi Chew and vice president Michael Beckerman. I think the US “intelligence community” already has everything it needs to monitor and control TikTok.

      • davel [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        They were physically relocated to the US so that the US can access the data, as people like Edward Snowden and Mark Klein have shown us. I’m sure the US knows precisely what data is and isn’t being sent to China.

    • BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one
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      9 months ago

      I have a geoIP alias on my firewall and can still see TikTok sending telemetry to a Chinese CDN.

      • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        sending telemetry to a Chinese CDN.

        If this is your basis of evaluation of spying, this is straight up xenophobic and racist. Why? Because you (and Anglos) intentionally abuse the language barrier as a way to obfuscate the difference between spying and regular internet activity. This is reddit tier bullshit that almost every “investigative” YouTuber and blogger does.

        • Diotima@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          Calling people “Anglos” as if their race somehow defines their worldview is racist. Expressing concern because an application with alleged ties to an authoritarian regime is sending data to an endpoint within said regime’s borders might be silly, but it has nothinvg to do with race. With respect, that right there is some Israel “pointing out our human rights atrocities is antisemitic” level of bullshit.

            • Diotima@kbin.social
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              9 months ago

              World systems theory woukd suggest that the inner core should have shifted in the 21st century to include at thd very least China. Western powers may have been dominant in the mid to late 20th century but that is decidedly no longer the case; China fits every metric offered by the theory.

              I doubt OP meant that anyway, given that their statements were directed at individual actors and not national powers.

              Regardless, expressing concern because an app that both has ties to an authoritarian regime AND is effectively banned in that regime is understandable. Screaming RACIST at anyone who dares criticize China and calling them Anglos is both ridiculous and racist itself.
              .

      • davel [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        If so, then maybe the US “intelligence community” doesn’t actually see that as a problem, despite the cold war propaganda.

  • ZahzenEclipse@kbin.social
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    9 months ago

    This meme is a bit dishonest because its about Chinese government harvesting this data not about companies harvesting it. Both are bad but ones substantially worse.

    • oxjox@lemmy.ml
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      9 months ago

      The bill actually addresses any foreign adversary.

    • Cysioland@lemmygrad.ml
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      9 months ago

      How the Chinese government having my (Westerner’s in a NATO country) data is any worse than Western (and thus subpoenable by the Western governments) corporations having it?

      • Olivia@lemmy.today
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        9 months ago

        Cause somebody is selling the Chinese king false dreams of invading America. And maybe having documents on every American citizen would be helpful post invasion.

        Source: anonymous internet poster

          • Olivia@lemmy.today
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            9 months ago

            You’re on the same “Risk Board game” like the rest of us. If you’re not in the American sphere of influence then NSA is just taking all your metadata the harder way.

    • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      Yeah, if China wants the data of Americans they should buy it from American companies, not harvest it themselves.

      They’re not mad about leaking data, they’re mad that China is drinking their milkshake.

  • CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de
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    9 months ago

    I don’t discriminate. I say the data protection of all of these services is terrible and you shouldn’t use them.

  • caveman@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    Just install an alternative app Store like Aurora or install it directly from TikTok sites.

    For open source projects, you can also use Obtainium or F-Droid

    • MonkderZweite@feddit.ch
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      9 months ago

      Aurora displays currently no app, be it anonymous or with login. Anyone knows why? I need it to reinstall my banking access app, dammit.

    • CindyTheSkull [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      9 months ago

      Oh really? This ban won’t effect people who use (for example) F-Droid to get the app?? That’s great to hear tbh. Hopefully this stupid ass decision will have the effect of turning more people on to FOSS stuff more than it will actually prevent people from using TikTok.

      • caveman@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        I don’t think they will put it on fdroid, because it has to really be open source to be there, but there’s certainly other app stores which will have it.

        How can a ban be enforced? It’s always thru Google app Store or IP, and you can always bypass both.

        In Aurora Store there’s TikTok. You can install aurora store here:

        https://aurorastore.org/

        In Worst case you can try finding the official tiktok .APK install somewhere

          • caveman@lemmy.ml
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            9 months ago

            You can use VPN (paid or free) for instance and if the ban is really badly done even by changing the DNS server (which is free) access can be restored.

            • Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip
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              9 months ago

              Nope. You can’t access tiktok through vpn in India. You need a patched/modded app. I live in India and I’ve tried doing that. It’s a non-existent platform here. Bans will affect user engagement.

              • caveman@lemmy.ml
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                9 months ago

                As a curiosity: how do the system know if you are in India? You said VPN doesn’t work so it’s not thru IP address. What’s it then?