Remember back in 2020 when President Trump threatened to ban TikTok because of data security issues? CNN did an analysis and said what might really have been motivating Trump: Trolls had used the app to register fake sign-ups for his rally in Oklahoma, and comedian Sarah Cooper scored thousands of views “mercilessly lampooning his speeches.” But CNN had to concede that Trump had a point: “… the app’s critics warn that because it is owned by a Chinese company, Beijing could force it to turn over data on millions of American users and even infiltrate US corporations.”
Now the commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission is calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores. Maybe Trump had a point and wasn’t just being “a grumpy 70-something spoiling the kids’ fun.”
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 & @Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices. pic.twitter.com/Le01fBpNjn
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022
TikTok doesn’t just see its users dance videos.
It collects search and browsing histories, keystroke patterns, biometric identifiers, draft messages and metadata, plus it has collected the text, images, and videos that are stored on a device's clipboard. pic.twitter.com/GKheArMM5X
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022
Tiktok’s pattern of misrepresentations coupled with its ownership by an entity beholden to the CCP has resulted in U.S. military branches and national security agencies banning it from government devices.
Bipartisan leaders in both the Senate and House have flagged concerns. pic.twitter.com/yLZ6NpQm4E
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022
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Numerous provisions of Apple’s & Google’s policies are relevant to TikTok's pattern of surreptitious data harvesting—a pattern that runs contrary to its public representations.
And there’s plenty of precedent for holding TikTok accountable by booting it from these app stores. pic.twitter.com/QH1w4ERDdb
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 29, 2022
Too little, too late
— McRipple (@McRipple589) June 28, 2022
The security risks from this are huge (and we have known about this for years) https://t.co/Kt3ruMJdnH
— Brenton House ⭐️ Digital Strategist (@brentonhouse) June 29, 2022
How did everyone not know this a year ago?
— Lucky Lindy (@sharkin312) June 28, 2022
Warned about TikTok two years ago. A ban on TikTok is long overdue https://t.co/zp1ZBjwDDY
— Helen Raleigh (@HRaleighspeaks) June 28, 2022
Very based. I support banning TikTok.
— PersianCapital 📖 (@PersianCapital) June 28, 2022
I've been saying this about the app since 2015….
— L. (@lsmtih1981) June 29, 2022
Thank you, finally someone with the opportunity to do something about this is taking it seriously.
— X-Zed87 (@XZed87) June 29, 2022
We’d miss Libs of TikTok, but those people will never stop posting videos of themselves being crazy.
Related:
'That's what Xi said': CNN 'analysis' downplays threat posed by TikTok to take snarky swipes at Donald Trump https://t.co/MvgENVKHe1
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 6, 2020
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