Almost 2 years ago (09-2019), Red Sky Alliance reported on the negative ramifications of TikTok: “TikTok is a popular social media app for sharing short user-created video clips. TikTok is a youth-oriented app that is used primarily by those in the 16-24 age demographic. TikTok is hugely popular with about 500 million monthly users worldwide and more than 26 million users in the United States. The problem is that TikTok is a Chinese social media app, developed in China by a young engineer named Zhang Yiming and the AI development company, ByteDance, that he founded. TikTok is the international version of Douyin, which ByteDance launched in China in 2016. The popularity of these two apps has made Zhang very rich; Forbes estimates his personal worth at $16 billion. Zhang Yiming and ByteDance are based in Beijing, and this raises concerns about the ability of the Chinese government to exploit this social media as it operates in other countries, including the US. An examination of TikTok and ByteDance revealed some troubling facts[1]:
- TikTok collects extensive data on customers, including images, address, social media login details, credit card information, contact list, IP address, browser history, GPS data and device location data.
- Chinese law requires that Chinese companies cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies, and TikTok says it could share user data “with law enforcement agencies or government bodies as required by law.”
- Douyin, the Chinese domestic version of TikTok, is heavily censored and has recently been including more government-friendly content, making is a conduit for influence over the Chinese population.
- Recent evidence indicates that TikTok, although operating abroad, is itself being filtered to eliminate content not friendly to China. This suggests that the Chinese government could exploit TikTok to shape perceptions of China for an audience in the US.
Other countries are finally taking notice of TikTok’s parameters. This past week, the Netherlands’ Data Protection Authority said it has fined TikTok 750,000 euros ($885,000) for not offering a privacy statement in Dutch, saying many children who use the popular video sharing app would be unable to understand the information. The agency said that by not offering a Dutch-language privacy statement, “TikTok failed to provide an adequate explanation of how the app collects, processes and uses personal data.”
It said TikTok has some 3.5 million users in the Netherlands and that Dutch privacy law is “based on the principle that people must always be given a clear idea of what is being done with their personal data.” The data protection authority said TikTok had “lodged an objection to the fine.”
TikTok said in a statement that its privacy policy and a “shorter and more accessible version for our younger users, available in Dutch since July 2020, has been accepted by the Dutch Data Protection Authority as the solution to this issue.” It added that it made other changes to safeguard the privacy of minors in the past 18 months, including setting accounts of 13-to-15-year-olds to private by default and only allowing direct messaging for users 16 and over.[2]
Last month, Dutch consumer group Consumentenbond said it was launching a 1.5 billion euro ($1.8 billion) claim against TikTok over what it alleges is unlawful harvesting of personal data from users. The group and a foundation called Take Back Your Privacy demanded that TikTok pay damages to 1.2 million to 1.6 million Dutch children who use the app.
Many countries have either banned TikTok or are in the process of banning TikTok due to security concerns.[3]
At Red Sky Alliance, we can help cyber threat teams with services beginning with cyber threat notification services, and analysis. And we are always available to help and support your needs.
Red Sky Alliance is a Cyber Threat Analysis and Intelligence Service organization. For questions, comments or assistance, please contact the lab directly at 1-844-492-7225, or feedback@wapacklabs.com
Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings:
- Reporting: https://www.redskyalliance.org/
- Website: https://www.wapacklabs.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/64265941
Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings:
REDSHORTS - Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings
[1] IR-19-267-001
[2] https://www.fox44news.com/news/business-news/dutch-data-protection-authority-fines-tiktok-over-privacy/
[3] https://www.distractify.com/p/what-countries-have-banned-tiktok
Comments