Enterprise Tech TikTok: America’s Drug Of Choice Roslyn Layton Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. International Tech Policy New! Follow this author to improve your content experience. Got it! Jul 12, 2022, 02:41pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin SHANGHAI, CHINA – Photo shows TikTok comic strip depicting US President Joe Biden executive order .
. . [+] lifting ban on TikTok on June 9, 2021 Future Publishing via Getty Images A recent report that TikTok’s American user data is routinely accessed by Chinese employees comes as no surprise.
China’s global technology companies have long engaged in persistent data sharing thereby giving the Chinese government eyes and ears around the world. In 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order banning TikTok by forcing its divestment from Beijing based parent company ByteDance over concerns that the app was a national security threat, but President Biden rescinded the order. Chuck Flint is an attorney and former U.
S. Senate Chief of Staff focused on technology policy and U. S.
/China relations. He weighed in on the flip-flopping with US policy to TikTok and how Americans, especially children, are at risk by using the platform. RL: I have long described the problems with TikTok , but it has grown in popularity to become the world’s most visited domain, surpassing Google.
Why do people continue using it? First, they see it as harmless fun. Users create light-hearted dance videos to share with others and some even get paid. It’s difficult to convince people that something they can dance to is a menace.
There are over 100M active TikTok users in the U. S. and 63 percent of downloads are by children and adults between the ages of 10 and 29.
Second, President Biden embraces the platform. He invited TikTok influencers to the White House for a briefing on the war in Ukraine and the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have both joined the platform to woo young voters. RL: What legal action has progressed on TikTok in recent years? In 2020, TikTok was the subject of combined federal class action lawsuits in California and Illinois after allegations that the platform harvested troves of unauthorized user data of adults and children and shared it with Beijing.
TikTok eventually paid a $92M settlement to avoid a trial. Fast forward two years and new audio recordings of internal TikTok meetings have confirmed that employees in China are accessing American user data. According to the BuzzFeed report, a TikTok official said, “Everything is seen in China.
” MORE FROM FORBES VETTED The Best Women’s Perfumes In Every Scent—Floral, Citrus, Musk And More By Jennifer Ford Forbes Staff The 15 Best Cameras For Everyone—From Beginners To Pro Photographers By Dave Johnson Forbes Staff Fortunately, the BuzzFeed report has triggered fresh scrutiny. Senators Warner and Rubio are demanding an FTC investigation. Multiple Senators wrote TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew requesting information about the platform’s data sharing practices and relationship with its Beijing based parent ByteDance.
Also, Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr has requested Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores. TikTok is back on the hot seat where it belongs, but more must be done. RL: What should people know about Chinese services and apps? China passed a national security law in 2017 requiring any Chinese company or person to collect intelligence if ordered by Beijing.
The Chinese government is also an investor of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. As a result, the Chinese government can demand TikTok employees in China access American user data regardless of where it is stored. TikTok devours browsing history, geolocation data, financial data, phone numbers, social contacts, clipboard data, biometric data, draft videos and more.
I served as senior staffer in the U. S. Senate studying the data privacy practices of Beijing’s technology companies and the national security risks posed by China.
Chinese technology is laced with backdoors allowing surreptitious access to data, a point also made by an external auditor hired by TikTok. The data can be aggregated using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to develop sophisticated profiles exposing Americans to manipulation and blackmail. Imagine having a fraudulent tax return filed on your behalf.
The CCP won’t hesitate should it become necessary. RL: China blocks US apps outright, yet it gets to deliver its online service to us? How does that work? Beijing’s Ministry of Information blocks US social media apps in China, so why don’t we return the favor? It’s mind boggling that we allow China to deliver online services to U. S.
citizens. However, it can be summed up in one word. Money.
For example, TikTok paid the New York Yankees $10M for a three-year advertising agreement that includes signage at Yankee Stadium. Chinese government money has become corporate America’s drug of choice and until that changes China will continue exploiting the U. S.
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From: forbes
URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roslynlayton/2022/07/12/tiktok-americas-drug-of-choice/
