After an FCC commissioner called on Apple and Google to ban TikTok from their app stores last week, due to lingering concerns that the app might have been used as a surveillance tool by the Chinese Government, Tik Tok has sought to reassure US users that their data and privacy remain safe.
As Tik Tok explains:
“The security of the data our community entrusts us with is a top priority at TikTok, despite recent reports questioning that commitment. We have sent a letter to Congress addressing these issues and others, and also want to share with our community the steps we take to secure our US user data, as well as where we’re headed in our commitment to keeping US user data safe, private, and secure.”
You Sure About That?
Tik Tok cites its recent system updates, which will now see all of its US user data routed through the Oracle Cloud Interface, keeping more US user data safely within the confines of national borders. At the same time, it has also been developing its US-based engineering capacity to reduce the need for data transfers across regions. Though right now, Tik Tok did confirm that some Chinese staff from its parent company, ByteDance, can access US user data, albeit very limitedly.
Theoretically speaking, Tik Tok can and does access US user data, at least to a limited degree, and only by select China-based staff. The fact that this info came from Tik Tok itself does suggest that there could be a potential security risk if the app were allowed to operate within the country. Despite this, Tik Tok’s working hard to assure US users, and authorities, that such limited access does not pose a risk, based on how said information could be used. Will this be enough to spare it from more security scrutinies? That would largely depend on the actions of the CCP, which is currently at odds with the US and other governments, on various fronts.
To be clear, there is no evidence that the CCP has called upon Tik Tok to share US user data in any way, and that it may never do so, while Tik Tok’s advanced measures to separate region-specific data do go some way towards alleviating concerns. While China remains at odds with the rest of the world on several key fronts, there will always be questions regarding how Tik Tok might end up being caught in the middle, which could see it cut off from other regions.
The Wrap
Tik Tok also notes that it has created a new division called ‘US Data Security (USDS)’, whose primary aim is ‘to bring heightened focus and governance to our ongoing efforts to strengthen our data protection policies and protocols’. However, none of this will matter as long as the Chinese Government chooses to remain a foe to other regions. The slightest escalation in tensions could spell doom for Tik Tok. Though it’s unlikely that Tik Tok will be banned entirely, things could still change in the blink of an eye.
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