Bonum Certa Men Certa

ByteDance is a National and International Threat, TikTok is Just a 'Command and Control' Front End

You would not let kids try narcotics, would you?

Fentanylware: Who's there?



Summary: TikTok, a weapon manufactured and managed by ByteDance, does much harm; we remind readers what ByteDance is really up to and cite a dozen news links about it

THERE is not enough recognition that TikTok is a dangerous weapon which deserves banning. For over a decade all the media scrutiny was directed at Twitter and GAFAM (or MAGMA, which includes LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook after the "Meta" rebrand).



"For ByteDance, there's no need for a business model."We don't typically condone banning or "censoring" things, but in this case it's like saying that issuing a call to ban nuclear weapons is a censorious action. We intend to keep reminding readers, at least once a week, what TikTok truly is. TikTok is not social control media but a tentacle of a spying operation, ByteDance. It's controlled by China, contrary to what ByteDance tried to say some days ago [1-2] (face-saving lies), and it is doing real harm to Western societies [3] while sporting so-called "Influencers" [4-5] (euphemism for shills, which it now bankrolls to lobby for ByteDance).

For ByteDance, there's no need for a business model. It's just spying on billions of people. The Communist Party can cover the expenses. In fact, there are no sign of a commercial success (things get shut down again [6-8]), but the data stays forever. Moreover, the harm done to one's surroundings is irreversible.

TikTok divides society (see the examples published in Daily Links earlier today [9, 10]. It's by design. It also encourages the so-called "users" to vandalise and harm their surroundings... unless they are in China or in close Chinese allies (see the documentary what ByteDance internally calls "spinach" vs "opium" TikTok). It controls behaviour. It can seed discord. The "app" makes an army of "zombies". They are remotely conrrolled, in very large numbers (at scale). Consider our ongoing series about the 'Cancel Culture' Industry [1, 2, 3, 4].

"Even if the government does not ban TikTok, you really need to get TikTok out of your life and, if possible, out of the hands of loves ones."There's growing recognition in the West that TikTok harms kids' minds. It also harms their bodies (incidentally, the famous Facebook whistleblower speaks about it again; Facebook too does both). A week ago, responding to this perception criris, TikTok decided to "give parents even more control over what their teens see", but it's actually ByteDance controlling what they see.

While it's nice to see YouTube and Twitter circling down the drain (among other social control networks), let's not forget the threat which is ByteDance. Even if the government does not ban TikTok, you really need to get TikTok out of your life and, if possible, out of the hands of loves ones.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. 2023-06-30TikTok tries to convince users it’s keeping their data safe
  2. 2023-06-30TikTok-owner ByteDance debuts Ripple music creation app
  3. 2023-06-28 [Older] Desperation for a Viral Moment Is Driving Concerts Off the Rails
  4. 2023-06-26 [Older] Influencers Gas Up Shein After Sketchy Factory Tour: No Slave Labor Here!
  5. 2023-06-28 [Older] TikTok Bankrolls Influencers' Lawsuit Against Montana Ban
  6. 2023-06-27 [Older] TikTok Discontinues BeReal Clone, Adds Parental Filters
  7. 2023-06-27 [Older] TikTok Is Axing an In-App Feature Called TikTok Now That Mirrored BeReal
  8. 2023-06-27 [Older] TikTok is jumping off the BeReal bandwagon by killing TikTok Now

Recent Techrights' Posts

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Czech Mate: EPO Kingmaker or Merely a Pawn in the Game?
recent "missions" of the EPO President
SLAPP Censorship - Part 131 Out of 200: A Big Win for the Media in the United Kingdom (UK) Today
In a democratic society the Right to Know, which is closely connected to freedom of the press (or what one might label "blogging" or "blag"), comes above all else, except where there are lives being put at risk
IBM's Fedora Plans to Integrate Slop Into "Fedora Workstation as a Default Feature."
IBM does not care whether the community wants this or not
The Media Talks a Lot About XBox Layoffs, a Closer Look at the Data Shows Microsoft 'Bloodbath'
'Bloodbath' is the term insiders use
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 07, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Microsoft Cuts Doom "id Software" and Turkey Detains Journalists
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge (OCC) and Hardware Tests
Links for the day
A Break From the Routine
What matters is what whistleblowers keep feeding information to us
SLAPP Censorship - Part 132 Out of 200: When You Cannot Pay a Million Pounds (1,335,520.00 United States Dollar) to Lawyers But Have a Strong Community
Techrights compensates for its fiscal poverty with a wealth of community spirit
Fame is Not the Goal
"Fame" kills
Mental Health in Free Software Communities
clearly there is a subject that merits debate and it ought not be a taboo anymore
The Era of Sponsored Spam
There is no "era of AI", there is era of BRIBES to PRETEND there is an "era of AI"
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Cleaning, Old Computer, and More
Links for the day
Links 07/07/2026: Le Monde Combats LLM Slop Plagiarism, "ACLU Launches Largest Ever Midterm Electoral Program"
Links for the day
Extremism in the Free Software World is Mostly a Myth
Only the firm belief that justice applies to all will produce a just society
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 06, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 06, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Kernelized Secure Operating System (KSOS) and "Exploiting Thoughtcrime in LLMs"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 130 Out of 200: Jealousy, Envy, Hubris
This site is primarily about Free software
Gemini Links 06/07/2026: Still Mostly Dry, GoToSocial, and More
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Effective Dispute Resolution… But Not For EPO Staff
Slovenia fielded one of the few Administrative Council delegations which managed to maintain its own independent line against the tyrannical EPOnian "Sun King"
Community Sites Need Genuine Collaboration and True Autonomy
People who want to communicate, federate and organise for effective change need to evolve
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Covers Quibble, Free Software for Secure Communications, in the FSF Summer Bulletin
The Georgia Tech folks are bringing Free software education and contributions to one of the better known Computer Science hubs in the US
Microsoft Layoffs Include Windows, Bing, Slop (CoPilot etc.) and There Will More More Rounds (or Waves) to Come
"43% of Xbox laid off"
Obscene Contradiction in Microsoft's Layoffs Tally ("Official" Numbers Do Not Add Up)
Notice how they treat "LinkedIn" as separate
Preserving Comments About the Real IBM Before They Get Deleted
IBM in the 1980s is not what it is right now
Cybershow on "Escaping Prisons For Your Mind"
"THE CYBER SHOW: Stealing technofascism's boots, and stomping on its own face with them."
Links 06/07/2026: At Least 20% Staff Reduction in XBox (Microsoft), Taiwan Sees Uptick in Chinese Aggression/Provocation, Senator Rodante Marcoleta Arrested
Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer
To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations)
At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers
We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
Leaving Our Pets for Several Days
This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps'
several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2
It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media
Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU)
The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop)
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics
Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
Quiet Week
Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin
But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
IBM's Fall
IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on
What next for the EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge
Links for the day