And even before that, Tiktok’s parent company always operated and had its headquarter in China, so it’s forced to comply with the Great Firewall of China, and participate though their own moderation/algorithm.
Relying on a media that operate (in part) in a totalitarian state with heavy handed censorship is foolish. Even if they have some infrastructure elsewhere, it’s sowned by and answering to ByteDance management. Like all media companies from that country, it’s under pressure from the local and/or central government.
In Tiktok’s case, it has been shady for years.
There were already reports Tiktok censoring dissent in 2019 when it started gaining popularity internatinally:
And even before that, Tiktok’s parent company always operated and had its headquarter in China, so it’s forced to comply with the Great Firewall of China, and participate though their own moderation/algorithm.
Relying on a media that operate (in part) in a totalitarian state with heavy handed censorship is foolish. Even if they have some infrastructure elsewhere, it’s sowned by and answering to ByteDance management. Like all media companies from that country, it’s under pressure from the local and/or central government.