Google and Meta apparently get a pass because they’re “American companies.” Even though we know that they collect personal data and manipulate people en masse as part of their core product offerings. And of course, through PRISM and other programs, the US govt has access to much of it.
I think people are just scared because now China is doing the same op, but more overtly.
This is a distortion of reality in support of an agenda. Google and Meta most certainly do not get a pass - a review of either mass media or tech media/news aggregators like Reddit/Hacker News/Lobsters will show a consistent pattern of strongly condemning data collection from those two companies in particular.
The alarm is over the fact that, on top of the issues of letting any company collect so much personal information about you, TikTok has the unique additional problem of being effectively controlled by the government of the most dangerous (power * malice) country on Earth. Singling them out is understandable, reasonable, and somewhat predictable.
Maybe just a skosh?
Or that time China shot at several Indian soldiers and killed a few?
Although not being the same thing I've seen children put in cages against their will on U.S soil so I'm pretty sure it could stomach some reeducation camps in China given the terrorism issues.
U.S bombed Iraq unprovoked.
Here we have the old money and power game. U.S finally realised that it fed a communist state that has imperialist ideas and may challenge its power in Asia.
I would like this rivality to produce a more fair system for the world: secure devices, secure communication, open protocols with privacy built in etc instead of these appstores bans, obfuscation and demonization of the "enemy".
I think if you want to petition for good things in other areas, that's great, but please don't stop the people currently doing good now with whataboutism.
As far as I'm concered I would ban all these spyware apps, chinese and american alike. They are pure spyware and bad for our health and for democracy.
People should own their data, and their devices.
I'm glad that TikTok is chinese. It raises some important questions about appstores, privacy and data ownership.