The Indian and American Wars on TikTok
By Seif Zrelli and Dakota Benjamin, 8/26/2020
Backlash & a Social Media Storm
The global modernization of social media has been dramatically propelled by the expanding communication market in the United States (U.S.). With the U.S. leading with the top amount of users in two of the most popular platforms, Snapchat and Instagram, the country falls in second place just behind China in terms of users for the now infamously controversial application, TikTok. Previously, India led with the most TikTok users until it was banned on June 29 of 2020. Similarly, the 80 million TikTok users from the U.S. may soon fall to zero.
What is TikTok? And what makes it a threat to U.S. national security? TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos that last up to a minute, often with music in the background. Originally titled Music.ly, the app was bought out in 2017 by the Chinese tech company ByteDance who transitioned the app to its current title, TikTok, in 2018. Since then, the app has given rise to a multitude of TikTok celebrities who have gained mass amounts of user traction while subsequently using their fame to popularize songs and dance trends. As of last year, TikTok had over a billion downloads. What makes the app unique from other social media platforms is the app’s dynamic algorithm that rapidly identifies users’ interests in terms of content and displays such videos on the main page, also known as the “For You Page.”
Although the Chinese Company ByteDance owns TikTok, it remarkably has an American CEO, Kevin Mayer, who was formerly a Disney Executive. Despite the American ties to the company as of late 2019, the U.S. government commenced a security review of the application. In the past months, President Donald Trump has deemed the marketable app a potential threat to U.S. National Security. Peter Navarro, White House trade advisor, has accused CEO Kevin Mayer of being an “American Puppet.”
Essentially, the anti-communist United States government has reason to believe that the Chinese government is gathering and accumulating mass amounts of information from TikTok users and providing it to Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China. Consequently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, alongside President Donald Trump, has announced an ongoing investigation into the app along with a likely banning of TikTok in U.S. territory. In a CNBC article from July 13, Navarro told Fox News, “What the American people have to understand is all the data that goes into those mobile apps that kids have so much fun with and seem so convenient, it goes right to servers in China, right to the Chinese military, the Chinese Communist Party, and the agencies that want to steal our intellectual property. Those apps can be used to steal personal and financial information for blackmail and extortion, they can be used to steal business intellectual property and proprietary secrets.” Further, Mike Pompeo recently contended that TikTok, along with other Chinese applications are “feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party”.
Although China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, denied such allegations, the United States Government remains highly suspicious. What we do know, however, from the information given in TikTok’s privacy policy is that ByteDance has access to which videos are watched and commented on, location data, phone model and operating system, and keystroke rhythms when people type. The question is, should TikTok be banned from the United States?
What is TikTok? And what makes it a threat to U.S. national security? TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos that last up to a minute, often with music in the background. Originally titled Music.ly, the app was bought out in 2017 by the Chinese tech company ByteDance who transitioned the app to its current title, TikTok, in 2018. Since then, the app has given rise to a multitude of TikTok celebrities who have gained mass amounts of user traction while subsequently using their fame to popularize songs and dance trends. As of last year, TikTok had over a billion downloads. What makes the app unique from other social media platforms is the app’s dynamic algorithm that rapidly identifies users’ interests in terms of content and displays such videos on the main page, also known as the “For You Page.”
Although the Chinese Company ByteDance owns TikTok, it remarkably has an American CEO, Kevin Mayer, who was formerly a Disney Executive. Despite the American ties to the company as of late 2019, the U.S. government commenced a security review of the application. In the past months, President Donald Trump has deemed the marketable app a potential threat to U.S. National Security. Peter Navarro, White House trade advisor, has accused CEO Kevin Mayer of being an “American Puppet.”
Essentially, the anti-communist United States government has reason to believe that the Chinese government is gathering and accumulating mass amounts of information from TikTok users and providing it to Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China. Consequently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, alongside President Donald Trump, has announced an ongoing investigation into the app along with a likely banning of TikTok in U.S. territory. In a CNBC article from July 13, Navarro told Fox News, “What the American people have to understand is all the data that goes into those mobile apps that kids have so much fun with and seem so convenient, it goes right to servers in China, right to the Chinese military, the Chinese Communist Party, and the agencies that want to steal our intellectual property. Those apps can be used to steal personal and financial information for blackmail and extortion, they can be used to steal business intellectual property and proprietary secrets.” Further, Mike Pompeo recently contended that TikTok, along with other Chinese applications are “feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party”.
Although China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, denied such allegations, the United States Government remains highly suspicious. What we do know, however, from the information given in TikTok’s privacy policy is that ByteDance has access to which videos are watched and commented on, location data, phone model and operating system, and keystroke rhythms when people type. The question is, should TikTok be banned from the United States?
Are the Accusations True?
After President Trump made a comment explaining his plans to ban Tik Tok in the US and his allegations of it collecting information from users for the Chinese Government, questions have started being raised about this wide-spread app that is most popular among teenagers. With 500M users worldwide and 80M in the US, this app has become one of many modern-day controversies, with disagreements surrounding its respect for ethics of privacy, among others.
For now, the only country banning TikTok is India, and privacy concerns are far from being the main reason for this ban. In fact, The Washington Post confirms it was part of India’s reaction to the Chinese attack on the Sino-Indian border leading to the loss of 20 Indian soldiers. The country then ordered the ban of over 50 Chinese apps including TikTok. This ban was a significant hit to the app considering the Indian market was the largest outside of China for TikTok, with over 200M users. Australia, however, was proven to be conducting investigations through its Intelligence agencies to verify the app’s compliance with the country’s privacy and data policies, according to a report written by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The EU, also, investigated TikTok’s collection and use of user data. Japan shares similar concerns, according to The Washington Post. Interestingly, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey have been concerned with the “inappropriate and pornographic content” present on the app, making it at risk of a ban in these countries. It even got banned for a week in Indonesia.
Now, does it really spy on TikTokers? The short answer is that TikTok hasn’t been proven to be using any data from its users for Chinese interests, according to Forbes Magazine. ProtonMail, a cybersecurity firm has warned against the app’s alleged collection of data and its connection to the Chinese Communist Party. That could explain President Trump’s position against the app, and more importantly the app comes from China, causing proposals that it should be purchased by US-based companies like Microsoft. The question citizens need to be asking here is how different it is for users having their data collected and used for political purposes by the Chinese Government versus the US Government. In other words, is making TikTok the new Facebook, giving it the ability to support political candidates and oppose others, the right thing to do? Is it more legal? Is it more ethical?
Over 420 million of TikTok’s users are outside the US. Thus, allowing US-owned TikTok to continue its supposedly illegal and unethical data usage would be unfair to many non-US users and to US users as well. However, an argument could be used to encourage this purchase. US institutions and policies are stricter and more likely to verify and supervise TikTok’s compliance with privacy laws, among others. Facebook had to pay a 5-Billion-Dollar fine for the data leakage scandal of 2018, for example. The US has a history of accountability and rule of law that China may not share.
Users and governments are waiting for concrete proof of TikTok’s involvement in espionage and in Chinese affairs. Policy and bans can’t be based on speculations and unreliable sources. A ban of TikTok is quite unlikely in the US considering it was a statement made by President Trump in July, 4 months before the November elections. TikTok should, however, be concerned about being banned in other important markets.
For now, the only country banning TikTok is India, and privacy concerns are far from being the main reason for this ban. In fact, The Washington Post confirms it was part of India’s reaction to the Chinese attack on the Sino-Indian border leading to the loss of 20 Indian soldiers. The country then ordered the ban of over 50 Chinese apps including TikTok. This ban was a significant hit to the app considering the Indian market was the largest outside of China for TikTok, with over 200M users. Australia, however, was proven to be conducting investigations through its Intelligence agencies to verify the app’s compliance with the country’s privacy and data policies, according to a report written by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The EU, also, investigated TikTok’s collection and use of user data. Japan shares similar concerns, according to The Washington Post. Interestingly, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey have been concerned with the “inappropriate and pornographic content” present on the app, making it at risk of a ban in these countries. It even got banned for a week in Indonesia.
Now, does it really spy on TikTokers? The short answer is that TikTok hasn’t been proven to be using any data from its users for Chinese interests, according to Forbes Magazine. ProtonMail, a cybersecurity firm has warned against the app’s alleged collection of data and its connection to the Chinese Communist Party. That could explain President Trump’s position against the app, and more importantly the app comes from China, causing proposals that it should be purchased by US-based companies like Microsoft. The question citizens need to be asking here is how different it is for users having their data collected and used for political purposes by the Chinese Government versus the US Government. In other words, is making TikTok the new Facebook, giving it the ability to support political candidates and oppose others, the right thing to do? Is it more legal? Is it more ethical?
Over 420 million of TikTok’s users are outside the US. Thus, allowing US-owned TikTok to continue its supposedly illegal and unethical data usage would be unfair to many non-US users and to US users as well. However, an argument could be used to encourage this purchase. US institutions and policies are stricter and more likely to verify and supervise TikTok’s compliance with privacy laws, among others. Facebook had to pay a 5-Billion-Dollar fine for the data leakage scandal of 2018, for example. The US has a history of accountability and rule of law that China may not share.
Users and governments are waiting for concrete proof of TikTok’s involvement in espionage and in Chinese affairs. Policy and bans can’t be based on speculations and unreliable sources. A ban of TikTok is quite unlikely in the US considering it was a statement made by President Trump in July, 4 months before the November elections. TikTok should, however, be concerned about being banned in other important markets.