TikTok, a video creating and sharing app, has the potential to be a national security threat. The lip-syncing and comedy app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese internet technology company that has recently been under scrutiny for data collection.
Founded in 2017, TikTok has amassed over 110 million downloads in the US and over 1.45 billion downloads worldwide. This is a platform that allows users to create videos, comedy videos and more. According to Wired, Senators Chuck Schumer and Tom Cotton sent a letter to US intelligence officials with concerns on data TikTok collects on users that could potentially be shared with the Chinese government.
The data collected is significant. It describes what can make the average user more likely to watch something and pique their interest. With the 2020 elections coming up, it is hard to not think about having a potential repeat of the Russian meddling that transpired during the 2016 election.
Members of Congress are worried about a potential security threat. Senator Marco Rubio urged Congress to investigate ByteDance’s 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, another lip-syncing app that merged with TikTok. Rubio believes that content is being censored to reflect the Chinese Communist Party’s ideologies. The company has since responded and said that any data collected on US citizens is stored in the US and it is not under Chinese law. If it were true, however, the data collected and shared with the Chinese government could harm the US. The data could be used for advertisements regarding elections or for general influence on the population.
This isn’t the first time a Chinese-based group has been accused of a data breach. In late 2018, Chinese hackers were accused of stealing data on over 500 million guests that stayed at Marriott hotels. Trade tensions between the US and China aren’t helping: they could be the catalyst for meddling.
Moving forward, the US should take these allegations seriously. With the increasing use of social media data collected can be used to create modern-day propaganda. If you are a user, keep an eye out for TikTok: more information on their data storage is sure to be shared soon.
Regina Rivera
