Why are governments banning TikTok?
Personally, I don’t object to banning TikTok. (However, I do wish we could be smarter about it—more on that point below.) I really do think it’s nuts that this app is not only legal but also available to kids. Putting aside the fact that this extremely addictive technology is detrimental to their mental health, it’s a major security risk to everyone else.
To see how, start by considering what TikTok states in its privacy policy.
TikTok’s privacy policy
I bolded certain parts of this policy for emphasis:
We collect certain information about the device you use to access the Platform, such as your IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purposes, model of your device, the device system, network type, device IDs, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms, battery state, audio settings and connected audio devices.
In other words, TikTok doesn’t just collect private data about everything you do on its platform. It also collects your personal information from the other platforms, apps, and files on your device! Of course, other social media platforms do something similar. But wait, there’s more:
We automatically assign you a device ID and user ID. Where you log-in from multiple devices, we will be able to use information such as your device ID and user ID to identify your activity across devices. We may also associate you with information collected from devices other than those you use to log-in to the Platform.
So, TikTok can also collect private data from your other personal devices, including your personal computer at home, even when you aren’t using those other devices to log in to TikTok! Why is TikTok harvesting so much private data? And who exactly is it sharing all this information with?
From privacy invasion to foreign surveillance
While TikTok’s parent company has not been very transparent on answering those questions, we do know it is legally bound to obey the Chinse Communist Party (CCP). For instance, Chinese law requires ByteDance to comply with the CCP’s surveillance demands.
This foreign surveillance should concern us, given that the CCP, as intelligence agencies like the FBI have documented, “is seeking to become the world’s greatest superpower through predatory lending and business practices, systematic theft of intellectual property, and brazen cyber intrusions.”
Banning TikTok should fit into a broader security strategy
Given these concerns, it should be no surprise that TikTok presents a clear security threat. For this reason, it’s certainly not unreasonable to help mitigate that threat by forcing a divestment or banning the app. However, if we’re going to effectively ban TikTok, it would be smart to do so in a way that fits into a broader security strategy. For example, such a strategy might include:
- Enforcing personal privacy and data protection laws, as well as supporting ethical design standards, on all social media platforms.
- Have Internet companies slow down any social media platforms that are not in compliance.
If we implemented a broader security strategy in this way, we could nudge social media platforms like TikTok to become more secure and (dare I say) ethical. And if they’d refuse to comply? Well, few people would end up using a platform like TikTok if it took several hours to load.
In the meantime, if you’ve ever downloaded TikTok on your smartphone, it might be a good idea to delete it immediately … and perhaps replace your phone too.