Red Sky Alliances' Cyber Security Analyst, Jonathan Sweeney, speaks to WMUR on the security concerns with TicTok
MANCHESTER, N.H. —
Recent evidence indicates that TikTok, although operating abroad, is itself being filtered to eliminate content not friendly to China. This suggests that the Chinese government could exploit TikTok to shape perceptions of China for an audience in the US. One of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world is raising concerns with security experts. For more information read the whole article at Red Sky Alliance.
WMUR TRANSCRIPT
TikTok is a social media service where users can upload 15-second videos.
"It typically records videos of you dancing to music or singing to music," said cybersecurity technician Jonathan Sweeney.
The often-humorous videos can be addictive. But Sweeney warned that the app could open its users up to security issues.
"When you put the app on your phone it says, 'Hey, we want permission to use your camera and send a bunch of metadata,' and just like all other apps, we're just like, yeah, yeah, whatever. We're just going to move on," Sweeney said.
He said that complacency could lead to a much bigger problem.
"Once it downloads the app, it installs that software and it begins transmitting that software to the company who owns the servers," he said.
A lawsuit filed in federal court in northern California alleges that TikTok and its owner, ByteDance, have "vacuumed up and transferred to servers in China vast quantities of private and personally identifiable user data."
In response, TikTok told WMUR, in part: "Our data centers are located entirely outside of China, and none of our data is subject to Chinese law."
According to the app's privacy policy, the data that TikTok collects includes your cellphone number, your IP address and your geolocation.
Sweeney said China's government has been collecting data on citizens and noncitizens for years.
"In a matter of seconds, they can scan through billions of faces and can say, 'That guy's committed robbery or car thefts, so let's go arrest him,'" Sweeney said.
He isn't alone with concerns. The U.S. military has banned the app from government-owned phones, and lawmakers in Washington are calling for formal investigations.
Sweeney said the concern is that any data collected by TikTok could be used as counterintelligence.
"It makes it so much easier when people are doing it voluntarily," he said. "Why send spies to a different country when you can have people spy for you on themselves?"
Market researchers said 41 percent of TikTok's 500 million active users are between the ages of 16 and 24, and Sweeney said he believes parents should be on high alert.
"I recommend not having TikTok on your phone," he said. "I'll be straightforward. I don't recommend having TikTok on your phone."
Sweeney recommended that everyone check on a few things before installing any app:
Verify where the company's headquarters are located. U.S. companies are subject to U.S. laws.
Double-check what information the app will have access to under its privacy settings.
Have open conversations with your children about what apps they're downloading and why some apps are OK and others are not.