TikTok is on the clock and will be on the clock going to Capitol Hill on Thursday to answer to allegations that it is a threat to national security. Some business owners who depend on the app to make a living are helping the company avoid a ban, as well as the support of the app to make a living.
When users install TikTok on their phones, what exactly do they agree to give up? How many of the 150 million Americans who use TikTok read the licensing agreement and privacy policy that spells out exactly what information TikTok can legally collect before they agree to the terms of service?
Here is a sample of what Tik Tok collects:
User's activities on other websites and apps or in stores, including the products or services purchased online or in person, are covered by a user's activities on other websites and apps or in stores.
- your IP address, mobile carrier, time zone settings, model of your device and operating system - your device and operating system - your IP address, mobile carrier and time zone settings.
Objects and scenery that appear in your videos, including tourist attractions, shops, or other points of interest, are included in your videos.
This information allows TikTok to target videos, ads and political messages based on your habits and interests - cookies that collect, measure and analyze which web pages users view most often and how they interact with content, such as faceprints and voiceprints.
The company has also used very small images or pieces of data embedded in images and ads that can recognize the time and date a page is viewed and a description of that page.
Evan Greer, of the privacy watchdog Fight for the Future, said it was like giving them the keys to the kingdom. They are interested in your keystrokes. According to NetWitness, a spokesman for cybersecurity expert Will Gragido added: Statistical information, demographic information, your likes, dislikes, who your contacts are already on the platform. TikTok is not alone, according to cyber experts. Many social media platforms are close to cloning your phone. Data harvesting at TikTok has reached a new level, according to analysis from the joint U.S.-Australia firm Internet 2.0. Device mapping, external storage access, contacts and third-party applications data collection allows TikTok to re-imagine the phone in the same way as the original device. It also claimed that TikTok data is generally stored in the U.S. and Singapore, but connects to servers in China, a major concern of Congress.
Whatever app you download, you are trusting that company with the software on your device, which could open you up to vulnerabilities and put you at risk, Greer said. They are vacuuming up as much data as you are willing to give them access to. The TikTok position has maintained that users have control of the data that the company has collected. Americans are able to turn over TikTok requests by agreeing to the terms in the end user agreement. Most punch approve because they want the program. Even though something looks benign or looks cute or safe, it doesn't necessarily mean it is, according to Gragido. It's a very real possibility that something like a TikTok could lead to very disruptive acts and activities. Everything from misinformation, disinformation, espionage, and everything that we talked about about the collection of data surveillance, monitoring, has become a sort of Trojan horse in the modern-day sense.