Is TikTok really worth it? U.S. FCC Commissioner doesn’t think so
Anonymous | July 7, 2022
It’s no secret that over the last two years, TikTok has taken over the world as one of the most popular social media applications in the world, in the United States specifically, with 19 million downloads in the first quarter of 2022 alone. American users spend hours daily going through all sorts of videos, from cute dogs to extreme athletes. The algorithm is said to be one of the best in the world, so good that users can’t find a way to log off. TikTok has changed how Americans consume information – with short videos being the new communication norm – as the app shares everything from unsolved crimes to local news, sometimes even faster than the news itself. But amongst the hype, have we ever stopped to consider what type of user data TikTok is collecting?
Commissioner of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr is so concerned about TikTok’s data access that he believes the application should be removed entirely from iPhone and Android app stores in the United States. So on June 24, 2022, he asked Apple and Google to take action (Carr, 2022). But he didn’t get too far.
After listening to BuzzFeed News’ leaked recordings from internal TikTok meetings, Carr believes TikTok has “repeatedly accessed nonpublic data about U.S. TikTok users” (Carr, 2022). Carr has also alleged that TikTok’s American employees “had to turn to their colleagues in China to determine how U.S. user data was flowing,” even though TikTok promised the American government that an American-based security team had those controls (Carr, 2022). The user data is extensive – voiceprints, faceprints, keystroke patterns, browsing histories, and more (Carr, 2022).
In the leaked recording, a TikTok official is heard saying, “Everything is seen in China,” about American user data, even though TikTok has repeatedly claimed that the data it gathers about Americans is solely stored in the United States (Meyer, 2022). In any case, China shouldn’t be allowed access to that data, as that isn’t outlined in TikTok’s Terms of Use (TikTok Inc., 2019). In contrast, in other applications like Instagram, that restriction has been clearly stated in their Terms of Use (Meta, 2019).
“At its core, TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data,” Carr wrote in his letters to Google and Apple, which were published on his Twitter profile (Carr, 2022). Carr asks these tech giants to remove TikTok from their App Stores, which begs the question – is that allowed? Technically, he’s justified in asking for this. But why?
TikTok’s misrepresentation of where user data is stored puts it out of compliance with the policies both Apple and Google require every application to adhere to as a condition of being available for download (Carr, 2022). However, neither Apple nor Google have responded. Given the cry for help from the FCC, one would think the FCC’s authority over social media would be the final word, but surprisingly, that’s not the case. It turns out the FCC is responsible for ensuring communication infrastructure, but it has zero control over what is being communicated; therefore, it has little to no control over social media. Their net neutrality policy has removed their power of proper social media and big tech regulation. Although they call for it, it doesn’t mean much, as they can’t necessarily act on it (Coldewey, 2020).
Unfortunately, the United States government cannot impose fines on TikTok as no law has been broken. Any action against the tech giant would need to come from Congress, in agreement by both political parties. Without any set regulation, it’s hard to charge TikTok with anything.
TikTok is no stranger to data malpractice. In 2021, TikTok, although denying claims, agreed to pay $92 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged that the app transferred data to servers and third parties in China that could identify, profile, and track the physical locations of American users (Bryan & Boggs, 2021). In 2019, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, also reached a settlement with a group of parents who alleged that the company collected and exposed the data of minors, violating an American children’s privacy law (Haasch, 2021).
The controversy didn’t stop there; it continued. TikTok responded to Carr’s claims by saying the recordings were taken out of context. TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, in a letter published by the New York Times, said the conversations in the recordings were around an initiative designed to “strengthen the company’s data security program” (Chew, 2022). Chew went into detail about how TikTok prevents data from being routed to China, mainly by having data servers located directly in the U.S., with help from American consulting firms in designing that process (Chew, 2022).
All of this begs the question: is TikTok worth it? Would you risk your data for the videos? Unfortunately, there’s little way to know if TikTok and Chew are following their policies, and the United States government is far from adequately regulating the app. It’s up to you to decide what you should do.
Sources
Bryan, K. L., & Boggs, P. (2021, October 5). Federal Court Approves $92 Million TikTok Settlement. National Law Review. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from http://natlawreview.com/article/federal-court-gives-preliminary-approval-92-million-tiktok-mdl-settlement-over
Carr, B [@BrendanCarrFCC]. (2022, June 28). TikTok is not just another video app. That’s the sheep’s clothing. It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing. I’ve called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices. [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/brendancarrfcc/status/1541823585957707776
Chew, S. Z. (2022, June 30). TikTok’s Response to Republican Senators. The New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2022, from https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/tik-tok-s-response-to-republican-senators/e5f56d3ef4886b33/full.pdf
Coldewey, D. (2020, October 19). Who regulates social media? TechCrunch. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/19/who-regulates-social-media/
Haasch, P. (2021, November 19). TikTok May Owe You Money From Its $92 Million Data Privacy Settlement. Business Insider. Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-data-privacy-settlement-how-to-submit-claim-2021-11
Meta. (2022, January 4). Terms of Use. Instagram. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://help.instagram.com/581066165581870
Meyer, D. (2022, June 29). Apple and Google should kick TikTok out of their app stores, FCC commissioner argues. Fortune. Retrieved July 5, 2022, from https://fortune.com/2022/06/29/apple-google-tiktok-iphone-android-brendan-carr-fcc-privacy-surveillance-china-snowden/
Montti, R. (2022, July 5). TikTok Responds To Allegations Of Unsecured User Data. Search Engine Journal. Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/tiktok-responds-user-data/456633/#close
TikTok Inc. (2019, February 1). Terms of Service. TikTok. Retrieved July 4, 2022, from https://www.tiktok.com/legal/terms-of-service-us?lang=en