TikTok users “absolutely justified” in fearing MAGA makeover, experts say
arstechnica.com
TikTok’s tech issues abound as censorship fears drive users to delete app.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/59392382

TikTok wants users to believe that errors blocking uploads of anti-ICE videos or direct messages mentioning Jeffrey Epstein are due to technical errors—not the platform seemingly shifting to censor content critical of Donald Trump after he hand-picked the US owners who took over the app last week.

However, experts say that TikTok users’ censorship fears are justified, whether the bugs are to blame or not.

Ioana Literat, an associate professor of technology, media, and learning at Teachers College, Columbia University, has studied TikTok’s politics since the app first shot to popularity in the US in 2018. She told Ars that “users’ fears are absolutely justified” and explained why the “bugs” explanation is “insufficient.”

  • Tollana1234567@lemmy.todayEnglish
    73·
    9 hours ago

    it was one of the last platform that allows significant criticism against ISrael without being censored, thats why.

    • chaogomu@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      8 hours ago

      Ah, but that’s the thing. There are always new platforms.

      The current winner seems to be a new one called Upscrolled.

      The guy behind it is a Palestinian out of Jordan, with Australian citizenship?

      Anyway, that’s all I currently know about it, the app is being hugged to death by tens of thousands of new users over the last day or two.

      • Zwrt@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        5·
        7 hours ago

        Not Open Source…

        It is considerably more open and build on open source technologies and they do want to become decentralized “once the open protocols mature (?)” but still, can someone educate the kids on software freedom please.