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It’s no secret that social media platforms know a lot about their users, but it gets worse in the case of TikTok. It’s bad enough that the FCC commissioner is calling for the removal of the popular TikTok video sharing app from the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
The FCC wants TikTok to disappear
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has called on Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to remove TikTok from their app stores. Carr tweeted his request along with a copy of the letter he sent to the two CEOs.
“TikTok is not just another video app. This is sheep’s clothing,” Carr wrote in his post:
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TikTok is not just another video app. This is the sheep’s clothes.
It collects strips of sensitive data that the new reports show is being accessed in Beijing.
I have called on @Apple and @Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for their surreptitious data practice pattern. pic.twitter.com/Le01fBpNjn
– Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022
Tiktok poses an unacceptable national security risk due to all the data it collects, which is stored in Beijing, according to Carr’s letter (TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing).
TikTok collects search and browsing history, facial identification, voice impressions, text, location, and photos. Everything is there in black and white as part of TikTok’s privacy policy, which you can read here.
Carr says Chinese law requires ByteDance to comply with China’s surveillance demands, which give them access to the data collected. No other popular software is spying on this measure, and there is no way to block the app from collecting data.
RELATED: Facebook monitors all your movements – here’s the proof
Throw on the glove
If Apple and Google do not remove TikTok from their app stores, Carr requires them to tell you how the app does not violate the privacy policies described in their app stores. The letter was dated June 24 and Carr expects a response on July 8.
Carr cited Apple’s removal of an app called Adware Doctor from its App Store to collect data and send it to China as a precedent for getting rid of TikTok. And Google recently removed “dozens” of apps for violating its privacy policies.
Where is all TikTok data stored?
TikTok recently boasted that the app has 1 billion monthly active users. According to Carr’s letter, the app was downloaded 19 million times this quarter. All this data needs to be stored somewhere.
TikTok has long maintained that it stores all US user data in the US, with backup redundancy in Singapore.
According to a recent statement from the company, TikTok has been working with US technology giant Oracle “to better safeguard our application, systems and data security from US users” and that “100% of traffic ‘US users are heading to Oracle Cloud “. Infrastructure. ”
U.S. and Singapore data centers will still be used to back up, but the company says it will delete private data from U.S. users from its data centers to “completely move to Oracle cloud servers located in USA “.
Who can see all this data?
According to a 2019 TikTok publication, the company’s data centers are located outside of China, so none of them are subject to Chinese law.
“We are not influenced by any foreign government, including the Chinese government; TikTok does not operate in China, nor do we intend to do so in the future, “the statement said.
In his letter to Google and Apple, Carr claims that storing user data on U.S.-based Oracle servers does not address his concerns. Beijing can still access this data.
Carr also referred to a Buzzfeed report claiming that the leaked audio of TikTok meetings in China revealed that its engineers did have access to U.S. data.
What do you have to do with it?
There is only one thing to do. Remove TikTok from your phone immediately. Even if you don’t create content in the app, the company still collects data about you.
Remove TikTok from your iPhone
- Press and hold the TikTok application.
- Tap Remove app.
- Tap Delete application, then tap Delete to confirm.
Remove TikTok from your Android phone
- Open the Google Play app.
- At the top right, tap the Profile icon.
- Tap Manage apps and devices, then tap Manage.
- Tap the TikTok app.
- Tap Uninstall.
Log in to a virtual private network
A virtual private network, or VPN, provides a layer of protection between your devices and the Internet. Hide your IP address and location and encrypt your data.
A VPN protects you and your online traffic from inquiries and interference from hackers, governments, and even your ISP. VPNs keep your online activity private and allow you to access sites and services that may be restricted in certain areas.
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