Comment by noman-land 11 hours ago
Those teens in Omaha will eventually become voting adults in Omaha and then will eventually come into positions of leadership in both the public and private sector. I can guarantee that 0% would appreciate being blackmailed or unknowingly used as pawns in spycraft. Teens in Omaha may not understand the full scope of what it means.
No, they all collect the same level of blackmailable stuff. They shouldn't ban TikTok, they should ban all data collection and get rid of the third party doctrine altogether. But China is sort of an active adversary to the US right now so banning it is a heavy handed method that will probably mostly work to prevent mass indoctrination from a rival and also prop up ailing US social media companies. The US govt wants mass indoctrination and blackmail material on people, it just doesn't want China to have it.
Please give an example of something that someone would be ashamed of or blackmailed by that goes through their TikTok?
Literally there are countless things. Firstly, the app is pinging TikTok servers all day so as you move throughout the world, your IP is changing and betraying your location. Your location reveals your social graph and movement patterns, whom you associate with, and where you spend the night.
People watch all sorts of content on TikTok including sexual/sensual content. While they are watching alone in their rooms, all their usage patterns are recorded in intimate details and they reveal all their sexual proclivities. That is quite easy fodder for blackmail.
Health and financial information can often easily be gleaned from people's watch history. If you know people are struggling with their mental or physical health, or are having financial troubles, these are all things that can be used as leverage for blackmail, persuasion, and deceit.
the fact that a person is closeted gay, or that location data revealed exactly when they were with a mistress
Does TikTok have private messages? Any platform with "private" messages can collect blackmail. Tucker Carlson was fired over two texts (or emails, I do not recall).
They may be blackmailed for watching forbidden topics like Russia friendly channels. Or explicit material if TikTok has it.
They may be blackmailed if they are in the wrong social network if TikTok has such a thing.
> And furthermore, why is it okay that it's collected AND owned by a company based in a country not subject to the rule of law?
Because I, as an adult, decided that I am ok with sharing my personal data within their app in exchange for getting to use the app.
As long as I am not sharing personal data of other people (who haven’t consented to it like I did) or some government/work/etc info that I have no right to share, I am not sure how this is anyone else’s business.
P.S. I would somewhat get your argument if it wasn’t TikTok but something that could theoretically affect the country’s infrastructure or safety (e.g., tax preparation software or a money-managing app or an MFA app for secure logins). But all personal data on me that TikTok has is purely my own, has nothing critical at all (all it knows is what i watch and do within the app), and has zero effect on anyone or anything else.
> As long as I am not sharing personal data of other people (who haven’t consented to it like I did)
The ruling mentions that users are in fact doing this.
> (Draft National Security Agreement noting that TikTok collects [...] and device and network data (including device contacts and calendars)). If, for example, a user allows TikTok access to the user’s phone contact list to connect with others on the platform, TikTok can access “any data stored in the user’s contact list,” including names, contact information, contact photos, job titles, and notes. 2 id., at 659.
I also don't believe that most adults using this app really know how much data TikTok collects. It isn't just "what i watch and do within the app". A fuller quote from the above that doesn't just focus on data involving other people is
> The platform collects extensive personal information from and about its users. See H. R. Rep., at 3 (Public reporting has suggested that TikTok’s “data collection practices extend to age, phone number, precise location, internet address, device used, phone contacts, social network connections, the content of private messages sent through the application, and videos watched.”); 1 App. 241 (Draft National Security Agreement noting that TikTok collects user data, user content, behavioral data (including “keystroke patterns and rhythms”), and device and network data (including device contacts and calenders)).
I also don't particularly believe that the US has to allow espionage just because the government spying got the individuals being spied on to agree to it.
And why have we forgotten about kids?
The law in question doesn't forbid you, or any other adult, or even any child for that matter, from knowingly installing the app. It forbids companies from assisting in wide scale espionage. You can still install the app if you want, the US companies just can't help operate the espionage app.
That's where scale changes kind.
I'd have no problem either, if TikTok were only collecting data on you.
I wouldn't have much of a problem, if TikTok were collecting data on x0,000s of people.
To me, it rises to the level of security-sensitive when information is collected on enough people that there's a high likelihood of people in future sensitive positions (military, government, legal) having had their information collected historically.
One can't put the genie back in the bottle when a competitor government can see a new president elected... and pull up a profile of what they swiped from 10-40.
That scenario impacts not just you (the future president), but everyone you have power or influence over.
And given the Chinese government's documented willingness to coerce people in foreign countries (i.e. the "not police" police stations), betting they won't use that power seems shortsighted...
> I, as an adult, decided that I am ok with sharing my personal data within their app in exchange for getting to use the app
You, as an adult, may also choose to drunk drive. The country is bigger than single people. Security threats are collective.
Can you definitively point to something TikTok collects that can be used for blackmail that isn't collected by any other social media app?