CNN’s Laura Coates speaks with Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, about online privacy and Congress’ pending legislation that could lead to a ban of TikTok.
I don't use TikTok, I never have, I never will and I advice against anyone else doing so not only for privacy reasons but also the effect it has on mental health and attention span. I lose nothing if it gets banned - and I'm still against banning it. The only difference between TikTok and other social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is that TikTok is Chinese owned. Do they actively influence western politics by it? Absolutely. We'd be doing the exact same thing if our platforms weren't banned in China. If the US decides to ban it then that's a move from the Chinese playbook. Don't be like China.
He advertised a no-name VPN, do you trust that product with your traffic? The he goes on to cite a movie as a source. And then another one...
Dude I can't even finish watching this.
I'm not saying he's wrong, he's just not credible. You can read citations from primary sources from politicians in actual news articles that are ... shockingly ... less hairbrained and more concise than this guy.
The title of the video is pretty clear "TikTok is a Cyberweapon".
Reasonable people can disagree over wether or not that's actually true... but it's worth noting China has banned TikTok within their own country. Clearly they think it's harmful.
It's also worth noting that congress was acting on an intelligence report which has not been published. I've heard there are rumours they might declassify the report and release it. Personally I'm inclined to reserve judgement until we actually know what evidence they have but the fact China has banned it themselves is a huge red flag.