It certainly does feel that The Rest of the World currently must choose between one empire's surveillance machine or another's. You point out that many of TikTo

It certainly does feel that The Rest of the World currently must choose between one empire's surveillance machine or another's. You point out that many of TikTok's employees come from Chinese state media, but many higher-ups in Silicon Valley similarly come from CIA or defense. The big platforms are an unofficial extension of government to exert power and control. > The question of how to apply more local customs and behaviours to a global platform is, I believe, the defining challenge of the next decade in tech. Government involvement aside, banning targeted advertising could be a start. Twitter and Facebook and others are centralized shit shows primarily because that maximizes their advertising revenue.