The ‘unusual’ TikTok controversy in Silicon Valley
Many technology experts believe that TikTok is dangerous for the United States, while others believe it is an unfounded illusion.
At the Code Conference in Silicon Valley in early September, TikTok became the talk of the town. It is an annual event that brings together the leading figures in technology, media and politics to discuss the most important issues in the world of technology.
Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University, believes America should ban TikTok because the algorithm can be addictive and a bad propaganda site. Matthias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, also supports this argument and even calls TikTok “spyware”.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel says Tik Tok’s massive user base has led to billions of dollars in investments for parent company ByteDance. That’s money American startups never have, and competition between apps is unfair, they say. This debate continues on social networks and media.
Girl in mask with TikTok logo. See: Reuters
These concerns have led to increased pressure on US policymakers to regulate TikTok. In talks with technologists, they wonder how much the US should relax.
But not everyone shares concerns about TikTok. According to technology journalist Taylor Lorenz washington post, Tik Tok’s most outspoken critics are spreading fear instead of focusing on legal issues related to user privacy. TikTok has no influence on American social networks like Facebook.
Others argued that the TikTok issues raised at the Code conference were “myths” related to privacy and ideological propaganda.
But there’s no denying that the lack of transparency on TikTok is causing headaches for US policymakers. This Chinese-born app does similar things to Silicon Valley’s tech giants and attracts tens of millions of US users. They make good use of the unfinished legal framework for development.
TikTok achieves a lot of success with content recommended by AI. According to reports, the application collects a large amount of user data. Most of these categories are not protected by US law. Meanwhile, ByteDance is using its powerful financial clout to expand its influence by spending millions of dollars on political lobbying.
Tik Tok was once threatened with a ban by former US President Donald Trump. But President Joe Biden’s administration is a little more open to the social network, and Tik Tok is using it to expand it even further, directly threatening the position of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Tao Hin. (Consequences chance)