Memes about Tiananmen square were popular on that platform. As well as videos critical of the CCP.
Anyone who claims otherwise clearly hasn't used Tiktok. And they'll shift goalposts to fit their narrative
There's no point in hiding these things from western users because we already know about them. If they will block them it will only attract more attention (aka Streisand effect)
Moreover, having observability into who and what are publishing such content arguably provides more value than censorship. Now you know who to watch, who/where/when they are, who their friends/family/associates/audiance are, and build out models and networks to provide even better overall observability and predictability over what you might see as a threat.
Sure, but would you get delivered this content if you didn't search for it?
Or if you are in a contested region? https://futurism.com/china-hong-kong-censoring-protests-tikt...
Big difference.
And we're talking about TikTok content in America, not in Hong Kong.