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Do we know what/how TikTok is "spying"? I mean it is just an app running on a mobile device just like any other app. What data does it collect that the feds would like to get their hands on? Perhaps the ban should be on the ability of any app to collect this data in the first place?

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Location, FoaF graph, kinds of things people engage with. It isn't just for direct spying but getting access to cliques. If you know your targets cook likes special kind of porn, you now have leverage to get an APT installed on machine close to the target. People's defenses are down when the lower brain is motivated.

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