TikTok mobile application has been grabbing the attention of the world as soon as the United States endorsed it as a threat to its national security. And to those wondering how this is possible, here’s a gist of it.
Data Sharing: First, the application allows users to share any amount of personal info that is being transmitted to servers operating in China. Yes, though the company now boasts that it is based in Singapore now, the parent company Byte Dance still has links with a political party of China. And so state funded actors can use the shared info to exploit people in the west……isn’t it?
Spying allegations: Since the year 2019, the then US President Mr. Donald Trump has pressed fresh claims that the video sharing app has spying tactics embedded in it and so it digs deep into the privacy of users by surreptitiously turning on their mobile phone’s camera or mic without the user’s permission. With the fear of Pegasus software already gripping the world, such news articles of TikTok invading the privacy of its consumers makes sense… isn’t it?
Censorship on full-swing: Though the entertaining app tells that it has no link to Chinese communist party, a few months ago, it issued guidelines to its operational team to censor content linked to Tibet or Taiwan from leaking outside of the Chinese federation borders. Meaning, it influences the content that is being generated, stored, and circulated online.
Disinformation: Another reason for Mr. Trump to impose a ban on the mobile app is that it was caught spreading misinformation on the elections during the 2016 US Polls. He had an opinion that the application was working under the influence of the Russian government that was deeply interested in seeing Ms. Hillary Clinton as the next President of America.
So, are these factors not enough to impose a ban on TikTok on an official note?
Feel free to share your mind…!
