Is TikTok a Chinese Cambridge Analytica data bomb waiting to explode?

guest · Aug 5, 2020

TikTok Ban: A Seed of Genuine Security Concern Wrapped in a Thick Layer of Censorship
August 4, 2020
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/...curity-concern-wrapped-thick-layer-censorship

It is ironic that, while purporting to protect America from China’s authoritarian government, President Trump is threatening to ban the TikTok app. Censorship of both speech and social media applications, after all, is one of the hallmarks of the Chinese Internet strategy.

As is too often the case with government pronouncements, the Trump administration has proposed a ban without specifying what the ban would actually be or what authority allows for it. Rather, the President has said broadly, “we’re banning them from the United States,” or most recently, “it's going to be out of business in the United States.”
Banning Americans From Using TikTok Would Violate the First Amendment
Banning Americans from using the TikTok app would infringe the First Amendment rights of those users to express themselves online. Millions of users post protected speech to TikTok every day, choosing the app over other options for its features or for its audience.
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Even if the courts reviewed the ban as just a content-neutral restriction on the manner of speech, a complete TikTok ban is overly broad and not narrowly tailored to achieve the government’s national security purpose.
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guest · Aug 5, 2020

Microsoft could buy TikTok for as much as $30 billion
The valuation of the deal could be as high as $30 billion, or as low as $10 billion, Faber reported
August 5, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/microsoft-has-one-year-to-transfer-tiktoks-code-to-the-us.html

Microsoft plans to finish its acquisition talks with TikTok within the next three weeks, ahead of the Sept. 15 deadline, CNBC’s David Faber reported Wednesday. The deal could be worth up to $30 billion.

If the deal goes through, Microsoft has already agreed with the U.S. government to bring TikTok’s code from China to the U.S. within one year. Faber also reported that the two sides haven’t landed on a price for TikTok yet, but it could be between $10 billion and $30 billion. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is “deeply involved” in process, according to Faber.
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guest · Aug 6, 2020

TikTok to open $500m data centre in Ireland
August 6, 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53664997

It will store videos, messages and other data generated by European users from the short-form video-sharing app.
Until now all of its users' records were stored in the US, with a back-up copy held in Singapore.

The announcement comes at a time when President Trump has threatened to ban the app in the US on the grounds its Chinese ownership makes it a national security risk.
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"It's a significant investment," Theo Bertram, the app's director of public policy for Europe, told the BBC.
The decision to base it in Ireland does not, however, mean London is out of the running to host the app's global HQ.
Security review
Mr Bertram also acknowledged there had been calls for the UK's security services to review the app, and said TikTok would be willing to let its source code and algorithm be inspected if requested.
"If the way that we're judged is for the security services to carry out a factual review of what we are doing, we're happy with that. We don't have anything to hide."
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guest · Aug 6, 2020

'I don't care': young TikTokers unfazed by US furor over data collection
August 5, 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/aug/05/tiktok-gen-z-millennials-data-privacy-trump-china

Mauren Sparrow downloaded TikTok in March to pass the time during lockdown. Since then she’s posted tutorials on crafting and videos of her two cats, Calcifer and Jiji, some of which have accrued millions of views and likes.

But with the Chinese-owned app now under fire over data privacy concerns, Sparrow, 29, and other young users have reacted with a resounding shrug.

“I don’t really care that these corporations have my data as long as I know they have it,” Sparrow says. “At this point, I’m so used to all social networks having all of my data that I feel it’s just the price I have to pay to connect with others.”
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“Am I the only one who doesn’t care if China collects my data?” a user in one viral video stated. “Let [the Chinese government] have my data. They know me better than I know myself,” another joked.
The debate over TikTok’s future has also underscored the generational divide between the lawmakers legislating technology platforms and the people who use them.
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guest · Aug 6, 2020

Report: Microsoft is exploring to take over TikTok’s entire global business
August 6, 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/microsoft-takeover-tiktok-global-business/

Microsoft’s role in the sale of the US division of TikTok has been mainly rumor, but last week Microsoft released a statement which for the first time confirmed their intent to purchase the company.

Today, FT reported that Microsoft is now exploring options to buy TikTok’s entire global business which includes India and Europe. It is important to note that TikTok is not operating in China. To acquire entire TikTok business, Microsoft may need to pay around $50 billion, which is a huge amount of money.

“Microsoft had been attracted to the idea of buying all of TikTok’s global business by the difficulty of separating back-office functions such as HR and to ensure that TikTok users in one country could still use the app if they travelled to another,” a person close to ByteDance’s Asia-Pacific operations told FT.
Source: FT
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guest · Aug 6, 2020

TikTok could soon be banned from federal devices
August 6, 2020
https://www.fedscoop.com/tiktok-soon-banned-federal-devices/

The Senate unanimously passed legislation Thursday that would forbid the use of the wildly popular social media platform TikTok on any federal devices.

The passage of the bill, sponsored by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., follows in the footsteps of actions several federal agencies have already taken to ban TikTok from use on government devices, including the U.S. Army, Transportation Security Agency, State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
The House also included a similar measure in its version of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.
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“In light of all we know, it is unthinkable to me that we should continue to permit federal employees, those workers entrusted with sensitive government data, to access this app on their work phones and computers,” Hawley said in a statement.
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guest · Aug 6, 2020

Why TikTok is the Latest Security Threat
August 6, 2020
https://www.cisecurity.org/blog/why-tiktok-is-the-latest-security-threat/

TikTok is a widely-popular social media platform owned by the Chinese technology company ByteDance. Though its stated intention is to share short dance and lip-sync videos, it has become a substantial player in the targeted advertising business in recent years.
Collection of PII and User Data
The data TikTok collects from users contains sensitive information and is often taken without the user's explicit knowledge.

To use the platform, users grant the app access to the microphone and camera. Multiple lawsuits allege that TikTok also collects biometric data from users, including facial geometry, iris scans, voice recognition, and fingerprints.[5] TikTok uses facial recognition software to superimpose images on users’ faces for use in videos.
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Unlike Europe, the U.S. does not have many federal laws that prohibit the collection, sale, and use of such personal data, leaving TikTok able to continuously scrape user data with little restraint or oversight.
Censorship
Moderation guidelines for TikTok were leaked in late 2019 highlighting the app’s censorship of any content critical of Chinese state interests.
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guest · Aug 7, 2020

Donald Trump signs executive orders to ban ByteDance and Tencent in the US
August 7 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/donald-trump-ban-bytedance-tencent-in-the-us/

US President Donald Trump today signed two executive orders to ban TikTok owner ByteDance and WeChat owner Tencent in the US. Within 45 days, transactions with both these companies must come to an end.

When it comes to ByteDance, we already know that Microsoft is planning to acquire TikTok’s US operations. We are not sure how this executive order will affect Tencent’s operations in the US because Tencent is a major player in the gaming industry.
Source: Whitehouse (1), (2)
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INBOX: @realDonaldTrump has signed an executive order to ban TikTok in 45 days. pic.twitter.com/1zR4HgCPVj
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) August 7, 2020
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AP News: Trump bans dealings with Chinese owners of TikTok, WeChat

Regarding WeChat:
The Verge: Trump’s WeChat ban could touch everything from Spotify to League of Legends

guest · Aug 7, 2020

TikTok prepares advertisers for possible app ban
August 7, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...dvertisers-for-possible-app-ban-idUSKCN25337K

TikTok is preparing advertisers for a possible ban of its app in the United States, ad buyers said, offering refunds for ad campaigns that are unable to run.

TikTok said it will continue to honor planned ad campaigns, refund any that it can’t fulfill and would also work with major influencers to migrate to other platforms in the event of a ban, said Rob Pearsall, senior vice president of biddable media at ad agency Havas Media, referencing a memo the agency received from TikTok Friday morning.

“We’re committed to being a trusted partner to brands, agencies and marketers as we build TikTok for the long term. TikTok will be here for many years to come,” Blake Chandlee, TikTok’s vice president for global business solutions, said in a statement.
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Some advertisers are forming contingency plans and considering other apps to move their marketing budgets.
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guest · Aug 8, 2020

Bill Gates calls potential Microsoft-TikTok deal 'poison chalice'
The former Microsoft CEO is wary of the way the deal is being forced by the Trump administration
August 7, 2020
https://www.windowscentral.com/bill-gates-calls-potential-microsoft-tiktok-deal-poison-chalice

ast week, word broke that Microsoft was in talks to acquire TikTok amid threats of its ban in the U.S. because of its Chinese ownership.

As part of a larger interview about pandemic testing in the U.S., Gates was asked about his thoughts on the TikTok deal. "Who knows what's going to happen with that deal," Gates said. "But yes, it's a poison chalice. Being big in the social media business is no simple game, like the encryption issue."

"I mean, this may sound self-serving, but I think that the game being more competitive is probably a good thing," Gates said in response to a question about whether he was "wary" of Microsoft getting into the social media game. "But having Trump kill off the only competitor, it's pretty bizarre."
Ultimately, Gates says, "Microsoft will have to deal with all of that."
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Rasheed187 · Aug 8, 2020

mood said: ↑

Microsoft could buy TikTok for as much as $30 billion
The valuation of the deal could be as high as $30 billion, or as low as $10 billion, Faber reported
August 5, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/microsoft-has-one-year-to-transfer-tiktoks-code-to-the-us.html
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This would be one of the dumbest things ever. It's only a matter of time before most people will use Instagram Reels. On the other hand, TikTok is already quite popular, but still 30 billion dollar is insane.

guest · Aug 8, 2020

TikTok may sue White House over ban as soon as August 11th
It would claim the ban is unconstitutional
August 8, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-may-sue-over-trump-ban-174432880.html

TikTok might quickly make good on its promise to fight the White House’s threatened ban on its service.

An NPR source claims TikTok will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration as soon as August 11th. The suit will contend that the executive order is unconstitutional as it violated TikTok’s due process right to respond, and that the national security rationale behind the order is based on “pure speculation and conjecture,” according to the source.
The company declined to comment on the possibility of an impending lawsuit, but did acknowledge beliefs the order was issued “without any due process” and “no substantiation” of the security allegations.
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Congress isn’t likely to help as it’s pushing for a ban on TikTok for government devices and has generally echoed security fears. TikTok may have to rely on the courts to avoid a ban, at least if a Microsoft deal doesn’t go through.
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guest · Aug 8, 2020

Twitter and TikTok reportedly had talks about a potential combination of the social media services
August 8, 2020
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/08/08/tiktok-twitter-preliminary-talks-trump-ban/3328828001/

Could a Twitter and TikTok merger be in the works?

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that San Francisco-based Twitter had preliminary talks about a potential combination with TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the Journal, it was unclear whether Twitter will pursue a deal with TikTok, which would face significant challenges.

Twitter and TikTok declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY Saturday. TikTok said it doesn't comment on "market rumors."
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WSJ: Twitter, TikTok Have Held Preliminary Talks About Possible Combination [paywalled]

Microsoft still seen as front-runner in bidding for video-sharing app’s U.S. operations
Twitter Inc. has had preliminary talks about a potential combination with TikTok, the popular video-sharing app that the Trump administration has declared a national-security threat due to its Chinese ownership, according to people familiar with the matter.
It is unclear whether Twitter will pursue a deal with TikTok, which would face significant challenges. A deal would involve TikTok’s U.S. operations, the people said. [...]
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guest · Aug 9, 2020

Netflix should buy TikTok if Microsoft can’t close a deal
Netflix has identified TikTok as a potential existential threat to its company’s subscription service success
August 9, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/09/why-netflix-should-buy-tiktok-if-microsoft-cant-close-deal.html

TikTok’s advertising growth potential is immense.
[...]
So, to quickly wrap up: ByteDance is being forced to sell an asset with enormous growth potential whose closest comparisons — YouTube and Instagram — are worth well over $100 billion. And TikTok arguably has a better advertising model for younger people than both companies, since it pushes brands to develop their own creative TikTok ads.
In other words, TikTok is a jewel asset that a buyer might be able to get to a bargain price.

Whoever buys TikTok could be buying a winning lottery ticket.
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TikTok could keep Netflix ad-free even if global subscriber additions begin to fall. Buying an advertising-based company with huge growth potential would give Netflix an outlet to tap in to that market without tampering with its successful subscription product.
TikTok is, of course, free. Netflix is a subscription. They’re complements [...] In other words, that’s not really hedging —both companies can flourish next to each other.
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guest · Aug 10, 2020

Exclusive: Microsoft faces complex technical challenges in TikTok carveout
August 10, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...l-challenges-in-tiktok-carveout-idUSKCN256100

Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) bid to carve out parts of TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance will be a technically complex endeavor that could test the patience of President Donald Trump’s administration, according to sources familiar with the setup.

Microsoft is negotiating a transition period that will give it time to ringfence TikTok technologically from ByteDance after they agree to a deal, Reuters reported on Aug. 2.
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To ensure uninterrupted TikTok service, Microsoft would likely need to rely on ByteDance’s code while it reviews and revises the code, and moves to a new back-end infrastructure to serve users, according to cyber security expert Ryan Speers at River Loop Security, which provides services including cybersecurity due diligence for deals.
Any continuing technical or operational reliance of the U.S. business on the Chinese company after the sale generally would have been unacceptable to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) [...]

Another challenge Microsoft faces is how it will transfer what is viewed as TikTok’s secret sauce, the recommendation engine that keeps users glued to their screens. This engine, or algorithm, powers TikTok’s “For You” page, which recommends the next video to watch based on an analysis of user behavior.

“Algorithms are not worth anything without the data,” said Jim DuBois, a former Chief Information Officer at Microsoft. DuBois is a venture adviser at Ignition Partners. “Segmenting the data for those countries is a significant task.”
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guest · Aug 11, 2020

French privacy watchdog opens preliminary investigation into TikTok
...after it received a complaint
August 11, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/11/fre...ns-preliminary-investigation-into-tiktok.html

France’s data privacy watchdog CNIL said on Tuesday that it has opened a preliminary investigation into Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok after it received a complaint.

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, is already under investigation over privacy concerns by U.S., European Union and Dutch authorities.

“A complaint about TikTok was received in May. This complaint is now under investigation,” a CNIL spokesman said, confirming a Bloomberg report.
He declined to elaborate on the nature of the complaint or the identity of the plaintiff.
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longshots · Aug 11, 2020

Leaked Documents Reveal What TikTok Shares with Authorities — in the U.S.
A glimpse at what the social media platform does in the U.S. underscores that data privacy issues extend beyond China.
https://theintercept.com/2020/08/10/blueleaks-tiktok-law-enforcement-privacy/

hawki · Aug 11, 2020

"TikTok Tracked User Data Using Tactic Banned by Google

The tactic, which experts in mobile-phone security said was concealed through an unusual added layer of encryption, appears to have violated Google policies...

TikTok skirted a privacy safeguard in Google’s Android operating system to collect unique identifiers from millions of mobile devices, data that allows the app to track users online without allowing them to opt out...The identifiers collected by TikTok, called MAC addresses, are most commonly used for advertising purposes...

The company said 'the current version of TikTok does not collect MAC addresses.'..."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-tracked-user-data-using-tactic-banned-by-google-11597176738

guest · Aug 13, 2020

Two Republican senators ask U.S. FTC to investigate TikTok's data collection practices
August 13, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ktoks-data-collection-practices-idUSKCN2592U4

Two U.S. Republican senators on Thursday asked the Federal Trade Commission for an investigation of video-sharing app TikTok’s consumer data collection and processing practices.

The request was in a letter by Senator Jerry Moran, chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Senator John Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet.

“There are allegations that TikTok discretely collected media access control (MAC) addresses, commonly used for advertisement targeting purposes ... through November 2019,” said the letter, which was addressed to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons.
A spokeswoman for the FTC declined comment.
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guest · Aug 15, 2020

Trump orders ByteDance to sell TikTok's US assets within 90 days
...new deadline: 90 days instead of 45
August 14, 2020
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/...ance-to-sell-tiktoks-us-assets-within-90-days

United States President Donald Trump on Friday (Aug 14) ordered the Chinese owner of the popular music video app TikTok to sell its US assets within 90 days, citing national security concerns and delivering the latest salvo in his stand-off with Beijing.

The decision came after an investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which reviews acquisitions of American businesses by overseas investors. ByteDance bought the app Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with TikTok.
Mr Trump said in the order released on Friday night, which has a 90-day deadline, that ByteDance "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States".
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guest · Aug 15, 2020

A Third of TikTok’s U.S. Users May Be 14 or Under, Raising Safety Questions
Three current and former employees expressed concerns about the Chinese-owned app’s safeguards for preteen children
August 14, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/technology/tiktok-underage-users-ftc.html

If Microsoft or another company buys TikTok before President Trump bans the Chinese-owned video app on national security grounds, it will acquire a giant community of devoted fans and a lucrative platform for selling ads.
It might be buying something else, too: a big population of users ages 14 and under. The minimum age for using TikTok is 13.

In July, TikTok classified more than a third of its 49 million daily users in the United States as being 14 years old or younger, according to internal company data and documents that were reviewed by The New York Times. [...] videos from children who appeared to be even younger that were allowed to remain online for weeks.
The number of users who TikTok believes might be younger than 13 raises questions about whether the company is doing enough to protect them.
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TikTok’s policy teams use the numbers to create rules for moderators to follow, deciding, for instance, what should be done if an underage user is communicating with an adult on the app.
One of the former employees, who left TikTok this year, said the app did not use the classifications to automatically restrict or take down videos that might be from users under 13, or to secure permission from those users’ parents or guardians.
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guest · Aug 17, 2020

Microsoft reportedly interested in TikTok UK purchase also
August 17, 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/microsoft-reportedly-interested-in-tiktok-uk-purchase-also/

Two weeks ago when Microsoft confirmed their interest in purchasing parts of TikTok, the company’s UK business was explicitly not part of the list [...]

Now the sale may indeed be extended to UK, with Microsoft expressing interest in purchasing that division also, according to an unnamed banker who talked to Fox Business News, reports Bloomberg.
The expansion was not expected given that UK has not expressed any intent to ban TikTok.

The news also suggests Microsoft may have stepped back from the idea of purchasing TikTok’s worldwide operation, a deal which will reportedly cost around $50 billion.
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guest · Aug 17, 2020

TikTok launches a new information hub and Twitter account to ‘correct the record,’ it says
August 17, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/17/t...witter-account-to-correct-the-record-it-says/

TikTok had already offered its statement regarding the Trump Administration’s executive order that will ban the app from the U.S. if it’s not sold by Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance by a given deadline.

Today, the company has additionally launched its own online informational hub and a new Twitter account designed to give it a dedicated platform for its collected responses, including those where it may need to respond more quickly — perhaps in response the President’s tweets, for example, or with other breaking news.
On Monday, TikTok launched tiktokus.info, a website that organizes the company’s statements, news coverage, “expert opinions,” FAQs and other resources in a single destination.

TikTok also strongly refers to the growing concerns over U.S. user privacy and security as “rumors and misinformation” that are “proliferating in Washington and in the media.”
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The company also launched “@tiktok_comms” on Twitter to share news and updates from the TikTok Communications Team. While it’s common for companies to have a social media presence to share their news, this account’s launch in particular seems designed with the goal of being able to more quickly react to changes and updates surrounding its U.S. ban, which has already been extended to 90 days after the issuing of the E.O., instead of 45 days, as before.
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guest · Aug 18, 2020

Oracle is in talks to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations, challenging Microsoft, source says
Oracle’s interest challenges Microsoft, which has been in talks to acquire the same TikTok assets for more than a month
August 17, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/17/oracle-is-in-talks-to-acquire-tiktoks-us-operations-source-says.html

Oracle, an enterprise software giant, is in talks to acquire social media company TikTok’s U.S., Canadian, Australian and New Zealand assets, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Oracle is working with a group of U.S. venture capital firms that already have a stake in TikTok, said the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. The Financial Times earlier reported on the talks and named General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital as two of the investors working with Oracle.
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Oracle doesn’t have a consumer-facing social media or video business. In theory, Oracle could use customer data collected by TikTok to improve its marketing products, but spending tens of billions to acquire a consumer social media company would be a significant departure for the company.
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guest · Aug 18, 2020

U.S. Treasury's Mnuchin says any deal for TikTok will protect U.S. data
August 18, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...or-tiktok-will-protect-u-s-data-idUSKCN25E1V5

U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin on Tuesday declined comment about a report that Oracle Corp had entered the bidding for TikTok, but said any deal to acquire the Chinese-owned short video app would protect U.S. data.

“We’re looking at all the different issues and I can assure that any deal that gets approved will make sure that American data is protected and that this becomes a U.S.-based company,” Mnuchin said on CNBC television when asked about the Financial Times report
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