Do you know the latest gossip about TikTok? Well, it’s not the famous viral dances or amusing videos of cats this time around. There are some major issues that the Justice Department has pointed out regarding TikTok and the protection of user data, and they are becoming increasingly contentious. Let me make it easier.
TikTok in Hot Water
According to the Justice Department, the social media application has been gathering a lot of information about its users, information that belongs to ByteDance as well. It is not the sort of data, where people get asked questions like ‘What is your favorite color?’ Here we are discussing some rather sensitive topics such as gun control, abortion, and religion.
Suppose you are at a social gathering discussing these issues and that a person is recording all that you have to say. Creepy, right? Well, that is pretty much what the Justice Department is alleging that TikTok is in the process of doing.
The Lark System
Now it gets a little more complicated. Some employees of TikTok have been using a system called Lark to communicate as well as share information with ByteDance engineers in China. By this system, they have been reportedly transmitting personal details about the US customers, which is then saved on Chinese servers.
There is one tool in this Lark system that enables employees to search and collect information regarding users’ attitudes toward the selected concerns. This has raised alarm bells because well, no one wants their personal views being monitored and stored without his or her permission.
The Potential for Manipulation
The Justice Department is concerned that this data might be used for something called ‘covert content manipulation.’ What this basically means is that TikTok could change what content it recommends to users. For instance, it might promote content that is beneficial to the Chinese government or attempts to sway the public in underhanded manners.
Think of it like this: you’re watching a cooking show, and when one episode is over, all the meals prepared in the next episode are encouraging a specific product because the manufacturer paid the show to do so. Now I want you to just think of how it would go if it was not recipes, but rather political or social content instead? That’s the kind of manipulation the Justice Department referred to.
The TikTok Ban
There is a law enacted by President Joe Biden, it might take a couple of months to ban TikTok unless it serves its affiliation with ByteDance. Both Democratic and Republicans supported this law and it is significant; considering how the two parties never agree on anything as we see today.
The worry is that the Chinese government may compel ByteDance to share with its U.S users’ information or even use the application to shape perceptions in its favor. The Justice Department went on saying that this could further erode the public’s confidence in democracy, as well as deepen social cleavages.
TikTok’s Defense
Of course, TikTok isn’t taking this, as it poses a serious threat to its business model. They have claimed that the prohibition of the application falls under the infringement of constitutional rights as contained in the First Amendment of the constitution of the United States of America. They also say that the government has not offered any evidence to back all the allegations made. TikTok admits to all this; they say it is all a misunderstanding.
TikTok has also noted down the fact that its Texas plan, known as Project Texas which entails the spending of $1.5 billion to store the U.S user data on American servers should be able to suffice for national security. But the Justice Department isn’t ready to agree with that statement. They think the data leakage through Lark disproves their argument that Project Texas will be sufficient to protect U. S. user data from snoopers in China.
What’s Next?
The argument for this case is scheduled for September, and based on the details presented it is likely to be an unusual legal battle.
