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Reddit CEO Calls TikTok ‘Fundamentally Parasitic’

Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman had some choice words about popular Chinese social media app TikTok at the Social 2030 conference....
Reddit CEO Calls TikTok ‘Fundamentally Parasitic’
Written by Matt Milano
  • Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman had some choice words about popular Chinese social media app TikTok at the Social 2030 conference.

    Social 2030 is a one-day conference held by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Facebook VP of Product Sam Lessin’s VC firm Slow Ventures. According to TechCrunch, when asked if Silicon Valley startups could learn from the app, Huffman didn’t mince any words.

    “Maybe I’m going to regret this, but I can’t even get to that level of thinking with them,” Huffman said. “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.”

    “I actively tell people, ‘Don’t install that spyware on your phone,’” he added later.

    TikTok has been under fire with allegations it poses security risks. The Pentagon issued guidance banning the app from the phones of military personnel, and TSA recently banned employees from using the app to post videos on behalf of the agency. The company behind TikTok is also being sued for allegedly recording and uploading videos to China without permission.

    If Huffman’s strong words are any indication, it seems public perception may finally be turning against the app.

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