Have you consented to everything that TikTok may be collecting?
Menaal Saeed | October 14, 2022
Lede: Although TikTok may have increased in popularity and is a staple for the younger generation, this comes at a cost regarding privacy and consent for these users. With the recent studies showing that TikTok may be tracking users keystroke data, are you willing to continue using the services?
Recent studies suggest that TikTok is utilizing methods to track users keystroke data and as a result is failing to adhere to standards presented by privacy framework, Solove’s Taxonomy and the Belmont Report, tenants to abide by when performing research. Solove’s Taxonomy is a framework that is useful to identify potential harms in the data lifecycle. The Belmont Report is a set of standards for researchers to adhere to when humans are the subject of the research. Whether the lack of privacy and consent is intentional or unintentional, it can be disastrous to the users, potentially you and I, who are unaware or unwilling. While this is an ongoing issue, TikTok’s popularity surged in 2020 and has been widely used globally. Many teenagers see it as a “search engine” (Huang 2022). They utilize the content presented to them to gather information that is easier to digest than reading an article or watching a tutorial video (Huang 2022). This is an interesting phenomenon but comes at cost. Felix Krause, a former Google engineer’s research identified risk of the browser in the application having a “built in functionality” that “tracks users’ online habits” (Mozur & Mac & Che 2022). This is dangerous if the application is tracking when users are entering credit card numbers and password credentials into other browsers. Already, the U.S government has been skeptical of using this application because of the connection of code being connected to servers abroad (particularly, in China) (Chen 2020). With the existing skepticism and this news, it is clear that applications like TikTok are interested in bypassing certain privacy and Belmont report standards. [IMAGE 3]
When analyzing this concern through the lens of Solove’s Taxonomy, all stages of the data lifecycle are at risk. Surveillance is a risk as there are users that are certainly unaware that their keystroke data is captured while using the app. After scanning TikTok’s privacy policy, no evidence of tracking keystroke data is available. Information processing is a risk as users did not consent to their keystroke data collection and repurposing for other use cases. The information dissemination risk also runs high as this personal data is captured by keystrokes, and if in the wrong hands can be extremely dangerous to users. This could lead to fraudulent incidents surrounding the user’s credit information and worse. This also leads to increased accessibility on the collected data (credit information, password credentials) because it is presumably stored in one place where it can be mishandled. The invasion into peoples affairs is intrusive as users are unaware that this data is collected without explicit consent.
The Belmont report clearly defines the necessity for respect for Persons, Justice and Beneficence. Consent which is defined as explicit permission is a tenant of the Belmont Report and it is violated. If TikTok is tracking keystroke data without users consent, then they are denying the right for autonomy by denying them the right to consent to this feature. Beneficence, which attempts to minimize harm to persons, is also violated by TikTok as they are potentially collecting information on users that could have dangerous effects (such as fraudulent credit purchases and targeting). Lastly, Justice which attempts to avoid burden on certain groups is also violated in this case as the most frequent users of TikTok (those between 10 and 19 years old who make up 32.5% of all users) are at increased risk for having their sensitive data tracked, stored and collected (Doyle, 2022). This is scary as the younger generation doesn’t know any better but to use the services and potentially naively and unknowingly open up themselves to harm. [IMAGE 1]
While TikTok is a widely used and loved application (with 1.39 billion users), it is clear that if the organization of TikTok’s builders, application developers and leadership continue to violate privacy tenants and guidelines, they will continue to be looked down upon by consumers in the U.S (Ruby, 2022). These guidelines presented by Solove and the Belmont Report should be adhered to, to ensure the safety of the application’s users. I urge you to consider these potential risks the next time you want a daily dose of your TikTok feed. [IMAGE 2]
References
Chen, B. X. (2020, August 26). The lesson we’re learning from Tiktok? it’s all about our data. The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/technology/personaltech/tiktok-data-apps.html
Huang, K. (2022, September 16). For gen Z, TikTok is the new search engine. The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/technology/gen-z-tiktok-search-engine.html
Mozur, P., Mac, R., & Che, C. (2022, August 19). TikTok browser can track users’ keystrokes, according to New Research. The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/technology/tiktok-browser-tracking.html
Solove, Daniel J. (2006). A Taxonomy of Privacy. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 154:3 (January 2006), p. 477. https://ssrn.com/abstract=667622
The Belmont Report – Hhs.gov. The Belmont Report. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/sites/default/files/the-belmont-report-508c_FINAL.pdf
Ruby, D. (2022, August 19). Tiktok User Statistics (2022): How many TikTok users are there? demandsage. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.demandsage.com/tiktok-user-statistics/#:~:text=As%20per%20the%20company%20data,billion%20are%20monthly%20active%20users.
Doyle, B. (2022, September 30). Tiktok statistics – everything you need to know [aug 2022 update]. Wallaroo Media. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/#:~:text=The%20percentage%20of%20U.S.%2Dbased,%2C%2050%2B%20%E2%80%93%207.1%25.