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Of course the algorithm is different. You have a different market with different rules. If everything were the same, you wouldn’t even need 2 apps.
And while the Chinese government is about to demand that nothing negative about the homeland may be posted on social media, we are allowed to do so and social media know all too well the power of echo chambers. Then the choice is made very quickly.
I personally think the truth lies in the middle. TikTok was not developed as a weapon in the literal sense, but it does work that way occasionally.
I get the same feeling about it as with the Dutch VOC. This was primarily a commercial company with the aim of making a lot of money for the owners. The goal wasn’t to kill, conquer the world, spread the faith or anything like that, it was just about money.
The problem mainly lay in the view of our fellow man at that time. Exploiting people was (socially*) much more accepted, especially when it concerned people on the other side of the world who we looked down on. Seeing other people as cattle makes it acceptable* to exploit and control them in every way. It is no coincidence that Article 1 of the Constitution states that all people are equal before the law.
The VOC did not aim to conquer the world or spread the faith, there were other organizations for that, but if that helped to earn more money, they would cooperate, simply out of business interest.
I think it works that way with TikTok too. The primary goal is to make money and the Chinese government is okay with it coming at the expense of foreigners. If that causes destabilization in the West, that’s a bonus. That is not the main goal but one of the means and a way to keep the support of your own government and people.
* we are very good at keeping ourselves blind, we buy our stuff in the supermarket and have no idea whether there is suffering behind it, human or animal, but those discussions are too big for this post.
