Last week, American congressmen presented a project to prevent the use of TikTok in the country. Last weekend, Taiwan banned stateowned devices from connecting to the platform created by China’s ByteDance. A day earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron made an announcement about the health risks to children and the political use of TikTok by China and Russia.
The Chinese platform surpassed Google and Facebook in popularity in 2021 and is expected to reach 1.8 billion users by the end of 2022. National Intelligence Work,” which in theory forces them to comply with Beijing’s demands.
Priscila Caneparo, Doctor of International Law and Professor of International Relations at UniCuritiba, recalled that in China the control of population data is evident: all devices are already leaving the store with software that performs this control. To extend this surveillance to the world only with the proliferation of applications. “The great concern of Western governments is that this would be a spy mechanism,” the professor summarized.
Distrust of TikTok increased two years after former US President Donald Trump said there was a need to control the app’s use in the United States. Buzzfeed News claimed in June this year that some US user data was repeatedly accessed in China.
The report cited leaked audio recordings of dozens of internal TikTok meetings, including one where a company official allegedly said, “Everything is seen in China.”
In response to the report, TikTok said that “engineers in locations outside of the United States, including China, may have access to user data if necessary, under tight controls.”
A TikTok executive testified before the US Senate last year, saying it does not share information with the Chinese government and that a US security team is deciding who can access US user data in China.
A study released in July this year by Internet 2.0, an Australian company specializing in cybersecurity, revealed new problems regarding TikTok. According to the analysis, the Chinese app is “excessively intrusive” and conducts “excessive” data collection from users.
The research deciphered the source code and identified how a series of data is routed without the user noticing. Technical analysis revealed that the app checks the device’s location at least once an hour and has constant access to the calendar and contacts. This would send confidential information directly to China.
banned in the usa
The bill, which would see the application blocked in American territory, was introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and supported by two congressmen, Republican Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi. They are at risk to national security.
“The federal government has yet to take one significant measure to protect American users from the threat posed by TikTok. This isn’t about creative videos this is an app that collects data from tens of millions of American children and adults every day.”
“We know it’s being used to manipulate feeds and influence elections. We know it serves the People’s Republic of China. Don’t waste any more time doing meaningless business with a CCP puppet company [Partido Comunista da China]🇧🇷 It’s time to ban Beijingcontrolled TikTok forever,” Rubio added.
The state of South Dakota already banned the use of the application on government devices on November 29th. South Dakota’s Executive Order prohibits not only using the platform, but also downloading the app and even visiting the website on any stateowned device with an internet connection.
The states of South Carolina and Maryland also announced similar measures last month. The US Armed Forces and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have taken similar action.
Taiwan bans app in public sector
China’s neighboring country has banned the use of the world’s most downloaded app on public sector devices. Taiwan is experiencing a strong political and ideological conflict with the Chinese giant, which insists the island is part of its territory.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), the application will be banned on public sector fixed and mobile devices for “national security” reasons. The TikTok decision follows a trend in Taiwan, which previously banned other internet services and content from China, such as the iQiyi multimedia platform and Tencent games.
The bans are based on suspicions that companies in the digital sector, including telecom companies, are serving the CCP’s interests.
Russian and Chinese advertising
On the 8th, French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized the social network during a trip to FontaineleComte for a debate on the mental health of children and young people. She is the “biggest disruptor” and the “most effective network” among children and young people.
Macron explained that TikTok has much more efficient technology than America’s to “push” content to this audience, creating “a real addiction among young people.” The French President even cited the “Russian propaganda” hidden in this content.
The chairman also highlighted the censorship of posts about the Chinese regime’s internal reality. “I urge you to find content about what is happening in Xinjiang or something similar,” the head of state denounced, citing the oppression and forced labor of Uyghurs in Northwest China Autonomous Region.
TikTok is different in China
A recent statement by Tristan Harris, a former senior Google employee, to the prestigious American program 60 Minutes on CBS increased international concern on the issue. “If you’re under 14, on their version of TikTok, they’ll show you science experiments you can do at home, museum tours, patriotic or educational videos. And they limit you to 40 minutes a day. They spread this version of not TikTok to the rest of the world. You know that technology influences the development of young people. For the domestic market, they sell a simplified version while exporting opium to the rest of the world,” he revealed.
Harris left Google in 2015 after warning in the early 2010s about the dangerous impact new technologies are having on attention. He was also interviewed for the American documentary The Network Dilemma on Netflix directed by Jeff Orlowski.
“Studies in China and the United States have attempted to uncover the careers that inspire young people for the future. The answer? In the US: Influencers. And in China: Astronaut. Let these two societies develop over a few generations and I can tell you what the world will be like,” Harris noted.