{"id":113655,"date":"2022-07-07T08:00:52","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=113655"},"modified":"2022-07-07T17:36:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T21:36:04","slug":"economist-whos-afraid-of-tiktok-the-worlds-most-exciting-app-is-also-its-most-mistrusted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=113655","title":{"rendered":"(Economist) Who\u2019s afraid of TikTok? The world\u2019s most exciting app is also its most mistrusted"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/span>ith its<\/small> wholesome dancing and lip-syncing videos, TikTok once billed itself as \u201cthe last sunny corner on the internet\u201d. Since launching just five years ago the app has brought a warm glow to its 1bn-plus users, as well as an icy dash of competition to the social-media incumbents of Silicon Valley. With its rise, a part of the tech industry that had seemed closed to competition has been cracked wide open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet even as TikTok delights consumers and advertisers, others believe the sunny app has a dark side. ByteDance, its owner, has its headquarters in China, whose government is addicted to surveillance<\/a> and propaganda\u2014making it a worrying place for a media app to be based. As TikTok\u2019s clout grows<\/a> and as elections loom in America, there is a brewing bipartisan storm in Congress over its supposed role as a \u201cTrojan horse\u201d.<\/p>\n

The hype about TikTok is justified\u2014and so are the concerns. The app has transformed competition in social media. Yet unchecked, it presents a security risk<\/a> to the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s enemies. Finding a way for TikTok to operate safely in the West is a test of whether global business and the global internet can remain intact as us<\/small>-China relations deteriorate.<\/p>\n

Beneath TikTok\u2019s simple interface lies fearsomely advanced artificial intelligence<\/a> (ai<\/small>). Its knack for learning what people like helped TikTok sign up its first 1bn users in half the time it took Facebook. In America the average user spends 50% longer on the app each day than the typical user spends on Instagram. TikTok\u2019s revenues are expected to reach $12bn this year and $23bn in 2024, drawing level with YouTube\u2019s. Young creators are flocking to the app\u2014along with some older ones. This week The Economist<\/i> joined TikTok<\/a> (no dancing, we promise).<\/p>\n

The effect on competition has been dramatic. In 2020 American trustbusters sued Facebook, now known as Meta, for its alleged dominance of social media. Today such worries look eccentric; Meta has been particularly hard-hit as tech stocks have taken a beating, and the firm is re-engineering its products to mimic TikTok. America often accuses China of copycat capitalism. Now the boot is on the other foot.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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New: @TheEconomist<\/a> asks \u201chow long before this ticking geopolitical time-bomb blows up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFederal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr outlines his concerns about TikTok\u2019s ability to harvest user data.\u201dhttps:\/\/t.co\/9qA48u8laE<\/a><\/p>\n

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) July 7, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n