TikTok has been the most controversial app in the United States in recent years. The ByteDance-owned video-sharing app has made the headlines for its questionable data practices and relationships with the Chinese government. TikTok is repeatedly accused of serving as spyware for the Chinese government and promoting certain ideologies- like Marxism- in the United States.
Concerns around TikTok heated up during Donald Trump’s era as US president, and the app even faced the probability of ceasing its operation in the United States. Things didn’t get better during Biden’s era, and TikTok was confronted with multiple investigations by US agencies. FCC even asked Google and Apple numerous times to remove the app from the stores.
TikTok is still operating in the US and could surpass 3.5 billion downloads globally. The app’s spokeswoman has now talked to BBC to clarify the data practices and policies toward certain issues.
Collecting too much data from users
Almost all social media apps collect a huge amount of data from their users, and TikTok is no exception. However, the scope of data collection and how the collected data would be processed and used differs in each company. TikTok spokeswoman claims their data collection is “In line with industry practices.”
According to research conducted by Australian researchers at Internet 2.0, TikTok can detect users’ location, device type, and the other installed apps on the device. While this might seem like excessive data, other researches conducted by Citizen Lab and the Georgia Institute of Technology argue that other social platforms also collect such data.
Allegations of collaborating with the Chinese government
When it comes to handling and protecting data, TikTok has an abysmal record. TikTok’s spokeswoman says the company “has not provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we if asked.” Let’s take this claim with a pinch of salt.
A few months ago, the app was accused of sending US users’ data abroad and allowing China-based employees to access US data. Despite initial denials, TikTok finally confessed to the act and was forced to preserve US users’ data in Oracle data centers. The company is now discussing building a new data center in Ireland.
Additionally, China local laws force companies like ByteDance to hand over data to the China intelligence service (MSS). The companies are actually required to “support, assist and co-operate” with MSS.
Being used as a “brain-washing” tool
TikTok’s spokeswoman says, “Our Community Guidelines prohibit misinformation that could cause harm to our community or the larger public, which includes engaging in co-ordinated inauthentic behavior.”
Social media apps often claim that algorithms determine the content that appears on each user’s feed. The algorithms also offer such content by monitoring users’ activities and identifying their interests. While this could be true in most cases, we should remember manual algorithm adjustments. Forbes recently reported that TikTok has a secret “heating” button that allows specific content to go viral.
Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, told US lawmakers in November 2022, “The Chinese government could… control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations.”
TikTok has already come under fire for banning users that talk about the Chinese government’s suppression of Uyghur Muslims. Any other content blaming the Chinese government will likely be removed. Promoting gender theory controversies and Woke culture materials in the US are other allegations against TikTok. Many experts even say that TikTok is fostering racial gaps in the US.
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