TikTok is ‘fundamentally parasitic’, says Reddit boss
TikTok is “fundamentally parasitic” and “spyware”, the co-founder of Reddit has said.
The Chinese viral video-sharing network boasts an active user base of around 500 million but it has drawn the ire of Reddit’s Steve Huffman.
Mr Huffman bristled at the insinuation that Silicon Valley start-ups had something to learn from the new app.
“Maybe I’m going to regret this, but I can’t even get to that level of thinking with them,” Mr Huffman said, according to a report from TechCrunch.
“Because I look at that app as so fundamentally parasitic, that it’s always listening, the fingerprinting technology they use is truly terrifying and I could not bring myself to install an app like that on my phone.”
He went on to say that he was “actively” telling people “don’t install that spyware on your phone”.
Mr Huffman was speaking during a panel discussion at the Social 2030 event hosted by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Former public policy executive Elliot Schrage and former Facebook VP of Product Sem Lessin were also on the panel.
The event was positioned as one to highlight and identify trends in social media apps that could play a major role in the development of the sector in the next 10 years.
The Reddit co-founder’s concerns predominantly revolved around the way in which TikTok tracks its users.
The Telegraph reached out to TikTok for comment.
Bytedance launched TikTok in 2018 after buying up another app, Musical.ly, and its user base.
The Chinese giant is now said to be valued at around $75bn (£58bn). It still makes most of its income from the Chinese version of its app, Douyin, which is supported by advertising.
In February, children's charity Barnardos warned children as young as eight were at risk of being sexually exploited on video sharing apps such as TikTok.
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission fined TikTok predecessor Musical.ly for children's privacy violations.
