This isn't quite as nefarious as I had guessed it would be from the headline:

"Factory TikTok, in other words, isn’t about workers documenting their own labor, but is primarily a marketing scheme devised by their employers, many of whom may be under increasing financial pressure."

I seem to remember reading something about Facebook being part of the reason TikTok succeeded while Vine failed? Facebook didn't see TikTok as a competitor like it viewed Vine, and promoted it more on Facebook? And now TikTok is a giant. ( I hope I have that right. )