TikTok’s data collection is extreme, even for a social media platform that collects its users’ data to serve them with targeted ads. And TikTok explicitly states in its privacy policy that it shares your browsing data and email address with third parties so that it can serve you with targeted advertising.
What distinguishes TikTok from other social media giants is that it is owned and operated by a Chinese company. ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, is headquartered in Beijing and is worth over $100 billion. Chinese domestic laws and regulations, along with internal party politics, can make it hard to parse whether a company is independent or coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.
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