Tag Archive for: TikTok

TikTok CEO faces off with Congress over security fears

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WASHINGTON – The CEO of TikTok will make a high-profile appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he’ll face a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn’t be banned.

Shou Zi Chew’s testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.

Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, is making a rare public appearance to counter the volley of accusations that TikTok has been facing. On Wednesday, the company sent dozens of popular TikTokers to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers to preserve the platform. It has also been putting up ads all over Washington that tout promises of securing users data and privacy and creating a safe platform for its young users.

Chew plans to tell the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and deny allegations that the app is a national security risk, according to his prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing.

TikTok has been dogged by claims that its Chinese ownership means user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government or that it could be used to promote narratives favorable to the country’s Communist leaders.

“We understand the popularity of Tiktok, we get that,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “But the President’s job is to make sure again that the Americans, national security is protected as well. ”

For its part, TikTok has been trying to distance itself from its Chinese origins, saying that 60% percent of its parent company ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors such as Carlyle Group. ByteDance was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in Beijing in 2012.

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said.

A U.S. ban on an app would be unprecedented and it’s unclear how the government would go about…

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What are the main security concerns surrounding TikTok? – The Morning Sun

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TikTok is one of the most popular social media networks, but facing political scrutiny because it is owned by a Chinese company that some people worry could pass the data it collects to a growing rival.

Qi Liao, computer science faculty member and professor for Central Michigan University’s College of Science and Engineering, shared his expertise on what kind of data TikTok gathers, whether it is more invasive than other apps and how you can maintain your privacy while using it.

Q: What are the cybersecurity concerns behind the calls to ban TikTok?
The primary cybersecurity concern behind the recent movement calling to ban Tik Tok (as well as the one under the Trump administration in 2020) is that the parent company of Tik Tok, i.e., ByteDance (a Chinese Company), might share user data with the Chinese government which is considered an emerging rival power competing with the United States. Such data might be used for intelligence gathering and could threaten national security. That is why the proposed ban currently only applies to government-owned devices.

Q: What kinds of user data does TikTok collect that might surprise people?
Like many other social media companies, TikTok may collect a variety of user data such as:

-location data (user movement trajectory, places visited, daily routines, etc.)
-biometric data (face recognition, voice, fingerprints, etc)
-device data (device types, operating systems, owner information, etc)
-usage data (your favorite video, hobbies, personal interests, etc.)
-contact data (your friends, colleagues, and family’s phone numbers, emails and addresses)
-linked social media data (like your Facebook and Twitter accounts, friends and followers, etc.)

Q: How does that compare to the user data collected by competing social media platforms?
The main difference is that the app is owned by a Chinese company, which is less transparent than a U.S.-based company. No one really knows what kind of user data they are collecting as opposed to a U.S.-based company that may be subject to US government regulations and disclosure of data collection/usage policy.

Q:  Are there apps that gather the kind of data that TikTok gathers that are not social media platforms?
Yes!…

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TikTok can be used on Singapore government-issued devices only on a ‘need-to’ basis

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SINGAPORE: TikTok is only allowed to be used by public officers on government-issued devices on a “need-to basis”, the Singapore government said on Thursday (Mar 16).

“Government-issued devices are meant for work and there are clear rules stipulating that only approved apps should be downloaded on such devices,” said a spokesperson for the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG).

“Currently, TikTok is only allowed for use by public officers on a need-to basis, such as for communications officers.”

The SNDGG, which comprises the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office and the Government Technology Agency, oversees the digital transformation of the government and the country’s key Smart Nation projects.

Government-issued devices have security configurations to safeguard data, while public officers are regularly reminded to only download approved apps, it added in a reply to CNA’s queries about the recent security and privacy concerns over TikTok.

Some Singapore politicians are using the app, including Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who each have thousands of followers on the platform. CNA has contacted them about the security concerns regarding the platform.

SECURITY CONCERNS

The popular video app has come under increasing scrutiny, with the United States, Canada, Belgium and several EU bodies among those that have banned the app from government devices. 

Britain announced on Thursday that it would ban TikTok on government phones with immediate effect.

TikTok is owned by Beijing-headquartered internet company ByteDance. The bans underscore mounting concerns that the app’s user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.

The concerns raised are not new.

The app, with more than 1 billion users worldwide, was caught in the crosshairs in 2020 when then-US president Donald Trump dubbed it a national security threat and attempted to block new user downloads in the US. TikTok has denied that it is a threat to US national security.

Like many other social media apps, Tiktok collects significant amounts of user data, including…

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Budget wins (and losses) — Vallance’s plan — Donelan’s TikTok twist – POLITICO

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— The good, the bad and the indifferent – it’s budget fallout time.

— What does the future of tech regulation look like? Sir Patrick Vallance has some answers. 

— The row over the U.K.’s position on TikTok takes an unexpected turn.

Good morning, we hope you survived budget day and are coping with the train/teachers/tube/lecturers/doctors/civil servants/BBC journalists (have we missed any?) strikes. 

Send your news, views and tips to the team: Annabelle Dickson, Mark Scott and me on email. You can also follow us on Twitter @TomSBristow @NewsAnnabelle @markscott82.

FIRST, THE NEWS: A budget that love-bombed tech was promised, and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered, sort of. There was cash for computing … regulatory promises on AI and finance … and some hefty tax and investment announcements too.

Right-hand woman: Science and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan was sitting next to Hunt looking pleased as punch on the front bench. But as the dust settles on the government’s self-styled pro-innovation budget, the all-important detail and reaction is a mixed bag. 

Exascale is coming: The most eye-catching sum of money was the £900 million announced for a so-called “exascale” computer — for the uninitiated, that is a machine several times more powerful than the U.K.’s top supercomputer. The other big headline figure was the £2.5 billion towards a 10-year quantum computing program (more on that further down the email.) 

Prized AI: Hunt also gave the go-ahead to plans to launch an artificial intelligence sandbox — a mechanism to allow companies to test for a limited time before entering the market. That would allow innovators to “trial new, faster approaches to help innovators get cutting edge products to market.” (More on that, and other recommendations made by Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance further down the email.) There will also be a prize worth £1 million a year which will be awarded to “the person or team that does the most groundbreaking AI research.”

Put your foot down: There was also another £100 million for the Innovation Accelerators programme which is focusing on three clusters:…

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