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> It never was about ByteDance. It's the Chinese government who will decide. This makes for a pithy statement, but is it actually true? Obviously the Chinese g

> It never was about ByteDance. It's the Chinese government who will decide. This makes for a pithy statement, but is it actually true? Obviously the Chinese government has a lot of influence on Chinese companies, but do they actually dictate strategic direction like this?

jedberg 3y ago
Yes. They own the company. Any medium/large company in China has a government representative embedded in the exec team.
- AlexandrB 3y ago
  > They own the company. > Any medium/large company in China has a government representative embedded in the exec team. These two aren't the same thing. Obviously if you go directly against the Chinese government you're liable to disappear for a while, like Jack Ma. I just don't think the Chinese government gives that much of a shit about a social media company. Despite all the hysteria about TikTok being uniquely corrosive to society you can see most of the same content and trends on homegrown competitors like Instagram.
plussed_reader 3y ago
I thought all businesses in China operate at the pleasure of the government? Most recent attempt I can think of bucking that trend is Ant group and Jack Ma, who presumably still is in a room somewhere and not a dark hole in the ground.
dsabanin 3y ago
They really, really do. It’s communism 101.
matwood 3y ago
ByteDance has a number of big US investors. A sale or divestiture of Chinese ownership would be good for these investors. From a purely financial view, selling is the right move. The only reason not to sell is because a player who doesn't care about money is putting the brakes on. I also think if they pull out of the US, it's not improbable for the EU to also push TikTok to make changes.
A1vis 3y ago
On this specific issue, very probable. China has a law that restricts the export of algorithm: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/US-China-tensions/China-s-new-AI-export-curbs-threaten-TikTok-s-US-sale https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/US-...
Obergruppen 3y ago
[flagged]

jedberg 3y ago

Yes. They own the company. Any medium/large company in China has a government representative embedded in the exec team.

AlexandrB 3y ago
> They own the company. > Any medium/large company in China has a government representative embedded in the exec team. These two aren't the same thing. Obviously if you go directly against the Chinese government you're liable to disappear for a while, like Jack Ma. I just don't think the Chinese government gives that much of a shit about a social media company. Despite all the hysteria about TikTok being uniquely corrosive to society you can see most of the same content and trends on homegrown competitors like Instagram.

plussed_reader 3y ago

I thought all businesses in China operate at the pleasure of the government? Most recent attempt I can think of bucking that trend is Ant group and Jack Ma, who presumably still is in a room somewhere and not a dark hole in the ground.

dsabanin 3y ago

They really, really do. It’s communism 101.

matwood 3y ago

ByteDance has a number of big US investors. A sale or divestiture of Chinese ownership would be good for these investors. From a purely financial view, selling is the right move. The only reason not to sell is because a player who doesn't care about money is putting the brakes on. I also think if they pull out of the US, it's not improbable for the EU to also push TikTok to make changes.

A1vis 3y ago

On this specific issue, very probable. China has a law that restricts the export of algorithm: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/US-China-tensions/China-s-new-AI-export-curbs-threaten-TikTok-s-US-sale https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/US-...

Obergruppen 3y ago

[flagged]