An incident in 2020 where TikTok users apparently tanked some Trump campaign rally probably is a bit more practical preview what controlling recommendations and likes could let CCP do (eventually... if they were not involved this time around) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/style/tiktok-trump-rally-...
I went to an Obama rally when he was running and just showed up.. no tickets. Got all the way to the front of the crowd. Another option is to charge a nominal fee for a ticket.
Trump's problem was that he wanted to hand out free tickets over the internet. Just don't do that.. problem solved.
If that's the limit of TikTok's power.. then I think we're going to be ok.
Or they can push narratives and stories to manipulate their audience? If the main search engine in a country was controlled by a foreign entity that would be cause for concern.
