Casey Oppenheim

@casey0
42 Followers
26 Following
5 Posts
Work on privacy solutions at https://disconnect.me
Casey OppenheimDec 22, 2022
Show threadEmily Baker-WhiteDec 22, 2022

In December, my colleague
@_IainMartin
and I found that the Chinese Government had made use of TikTok to distribute political messaging to US users in an effort to swing the midterm elections. TikTok still doesn’t label state media.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/11/30/tiktok-chinese-state-media-divisive-politics/?sh=6ea39b074bf0

On TikTok, Chinese State Media Pushes Divisive Videos About U.S. Politicians

Many of the videos attacked specific U.S. politicians before the midterm elections and pushed divisive social issues, without clear labels disclosing they were coming from state-controlled media.

Forbes
Casey OppenheimDec 22, 2022
Show threadEmily Baker-WhiteDec 22, 2022

In August, we reported that >300 TikTok and ByteDance employees had worked for Chinese state media organizations, which really puts in perspective the fact that TikTok is the only major platform in the US that doesn’t label Chinese state media.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/08/10/bytedance-tiktok-china-state-media-propaganda/?sh=7e710ee5322f

LinkedIn Profiles Indicate 300 Current TikTok And ByteDance Employees Used To Work For Chinese State Media—And Some Still Do

Three hundred current employees at TikTok and its parent company ByteDance previously worked for Chinese state media publications, according to public employee LinkedIn profiles reviewed by Forbes.

Forbes
Show threadCasey OppenheimDec 22, 2022
@ebakerwhite we published research into TikTok pixel tracking on websites in September. https://blog.disconnect.me/tiktok-tracks-your-sensitive-web-activity-even-if-you-dont-use-tiktok/ TLDR TikTok is tracking a huge amount of sensitive data across the web, whether you’re a user or not. Websites that embed TikTok pixel include really sensitive services like WebMD, the Mayo Clinic, Planned Parenthood, RiteAid, several financial and educational sites, even the Girl Scouts.
TikTok Tracks Your Sensitive Web Activity Even If You Don't Use TikTok

TikTok tracks everyone who visits popular websites linked to extremely personal health, financial, or education data.

Disconnect announcements
Show threadCasey OppenheimDec 22, 2022
@ebakerwhite Amazing reporting thank you so much for doing this important work!
Casey OppenheimDec 21, 2022
Justin (koavf)🌻🍉🇪🇭🌿Dec 21, 2022

If you are considering running your own Mastodon server (or similar service) and it will be hosted in the United States, please read this general best practice guideline from the Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/12/user-generated-content-and-fediverse-legal-primer

#eff #electronicfrontierfoundation #law #legaladvice #bestpractices #fediverse #dmca #digitalmillenniumcopyrightact #section230 #corynnemchserry #rights #anonymity #copyrightlaw

User Generated Content and the Fediverse: A Legal Primer

A growing number of people are experimenting with federated alternatives to social media like Mastodon, either by joining an “instance” hosted by someone else or creating their own instance by running the free, open-source software on a server they control. (See more about this movement and joining...

Electronic Frontier Foundation