Why is TikTok so controversial? TikTok is a social media app that allows short-form video hosting which hosts over 1 billion monthly active users. The TikTok app has been downloaded over 2.6 million times worldwide with 138 million active users here in the U.S. The app allows users to shoot, edit and share 15 second videos with music, filters, animation, and special effects. The video hosting service is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, China.
Its headquartered location is sparking many concerns from the FBI, Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center. All agencies appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee in November 2022 to discuss and express numerous national security concerns. Chinese national security laws can request companies operating within China to share data with its government. There are also valid concerns about China’s ruling Communist Party using its expansive authority to gather and track sensitive intellectual property, commercial secrets, and personal data.
FBI, Director Christopher Wray’s stated his concerns to the committee as “They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so choose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it an opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices.” Also the FBI is concerned that the video sharing app could influence American users or even potentially control their devices. Wray also went on to say that Chinese law requires companies to “do whatever the government wants them to in terms of sharing information or servicing as a tool of the Chinese government.” “And so that’s plenty of reason by itself to be extremely concerned.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) stated “the app posed privacy and security concerns to Americans.” The ability for China to have undue influence is a much greater challenge and a much more immediate threat than any kind of actual, armed conflict.”
Senators Marco Rubio and Rep Mike Gallagher have proposed bipartisan legislation that would ban TikTok and other social media companies which are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party from any operations in the United States. The lawmakers’ concerns were the apps can track user’s locations, and internet browsing information along with tracking and collecting national security data from U.S. Government employees. This data and information collection could potentially be utilized for blackmail or espionage. Another stated concern was that the TikTok algorithm could indoctrinate American citizens by censoring the type of videos viewed by the user or by promoting other videos based upon the user’s prior viewing or usage.
In addition to the proposed federal legislation ban, there have been eight states which have also banned TikTok by Executive Order or Memo on all state-owned devices and websites.
In August of 2020, Florida’s CFO, Jimmy Patronis signed a directive banning the use of TikTok on Department of Financial Services (DFS) devices and in DFS facilities. Patronis stated that “My top priority as Florida’s CFO is to protect our state from fraud and scams, including all major cybersecurity threats. As we’ve seen with the recent unprecedented Twitter hacks, we must take bold action now to protect our data and our devices from these very real security risks. The threat TikTok presents far outweighs any benefit the application could provide to official business of the agency and that is why I have decided to immediately ban the application from DFS devices and use of the app within our facilities. With reports of direct ties to the Communist Party of China, TikTok is a major security risk to the state of Florida and to the United States, and it has no place on state devices.”
As of the date of the article Florida hasn’t completely banned TikTok on all state devices. We will continue to update you on this issue especially from a local and state government perspective.
TikTok alone isn’t the only issue with national security concerns and issues stemming from foreign countries operating in the United States. We will provide more on these issues next week and how Governor Ron DeSantis has executed an Executive Order to keep Floridians, its assets and its future safe.
Published | Jackson County Times | December 15, 2022