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
The ban of the application is not to protect our privacy, otherwise they would ban US social media apps too.
That is exactly my point. The ban does nothing functional. It shouldn’t matter where the company is based, they should not be allowed to collect that data in the first place. This is at best a distraction from the fact the US continues to fund and supply genocide in Gaza or at worst an effort to stifle queer folks, dissenting voices, and non-corporate news.
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
The ban of the application is not to protect our privacy, otherwise they would ban US social media apps too.
That is exactly my point. The ban does nothing functional. It shouldn’t matter where the company is based, they should not be allowed to collect that data in the first place. This is at best a distraction from the fact the US continues to fund and supply genocide in Gaza or at worst an effort to stifle queer folks, dissenting voices, and non-corporate news.