Spying and telemetry is not something specific to Bytedance. Example: Google ? Or Microsoft ? Why is it a problem only when it is Bytedance or Huawei ? For the exact same activity

In fact the Chinese entities are even less likely to share your secrets to your governement than their best friends at Google

▲

cuuupid 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

No one in the chain of comments you are replying to has mentioned anything about Google, and on HackerNews you will find the majority sentiment is against spying in all forms - especially by Google, Meta, etc.

Even if we interact with your rhetoric[1] at face value, there is a big difference between data going to your own elected government versus that of a foreign adversary.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

▲

rvnx 6 days ago | parent [-]

So you are implying at the end that it is better that your secrets (“telemetry”) go to your local agencies and to possible relatives or family who work on Gmail, Uber, etc ?

▲

cuuupid 6 days ago | parent [-]

Yes, naturally I trust my own elected government, or possible relatives/family, far more than I trust a foreign adversary

▲

adam_hn 6 days ago | parent [-]

I'm sorry but why? Your government can use this data to actually hurt you and put you on the no-fly list, or even put you in prison.

But a foreign government is limited to what it can do to you if you are not a very high-value target.

So I try as much as possible to use software and services from a non-friendly government because this is the highest guarantee that my data will not be used against me in the future.

And since we can all agree that any data that is collected will end up with the government some way or another. Using forging software is the only real guarantee.

Unless the software is open source and its server is self-hosted, it should be considered Spyware.

	▲	6 days ago \| parent [-]
		[deleted]

▲

malfist 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

My comment has nothing to do with a specific company but about telemetry and spying on the customer.

"What about Google" is not a logical continuation of this discussion

▲

inetknght 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> Why is it a crime only when it is ByteDance or Huawei ?

It should be a crime for Google as well.

"Whataboutism" is a logical fallacy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism