I'm not sure.
For starters us being chemical robots makes it sound like the reactions taking place in our brain & gut should be obvious indicators of what we will do next. But that's not possible because Chaos Theory exists which negates Laplace's demon.
Then there's Quantum Superposition & Entanglement because of which even the most simple of decisions may not result in the obvious even with the same chemical reactions taking place in our head.
We also kind of hallucinate our reality, that is to say we don't properly see things as they actually are but how our brains interpret them. This is why illusions and hypnosis effect us, this is also why any psychoactive substance affects us the way they do. This could very well prove that we hallucinate a sense of control and self, on the other hand it's a big part of our culture to go to the pub to lose control which is a conscious decision we've been taking for millenniums.
There are more reasons but all of them like the above ones only work to increase more questions instead of giving answers. I feel like if reality is finite then we are not in control of our thoughts & vice versa.
Chinese TikTok is Douyin & it's not banned there. They wouldn't ban something that they can use for control or else WeChat wouldn't exist now.