In this episode, I take a step back from the headlines to talk about what actually changed with TikTok—and what didn’t.
There was a legitimate concern that TikTok, through its Chinese parent company ByteDance, allowed the Chinese government to collect certain categories of user data. China is an authoritarian state, and Chinese law allows the government to compel cooperation from companies. That risk was real.
But it was also a known and manageable risk—and one that looks very similar to the data-collection practices of large U.S. tech companies.
What concerns me more is what may have replaced it.
Since TikTok was restructured into a U.S.-based entity, there has been widespread reporting of suppressed or throttled content around politically sensitive topics, including ICE and, in some cases, information related to Epstein. TikTok has attributed these incidents to technical issues. That explanation may be true—but the platform’s opacity makes it impossible for users to independently verify.
This episode is not about alleging illegality or bad faith. It’s about recognizing a shift in risk: from foreign data access to domestic control over content distribution.
Data collection is abstract.
Content control shapes reality.
And as a society, we should be very careful about trading one unacceptable risk for another—especially when that new risk involves powerful domestic corporate interests quietly shaping what people are allowed to see and say.
This channel isn’t about outrage or hot takes. It’s about slowing down, asking better questions, and being honest about tradeoffs—especially when the answers are uncomfortable.
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