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Why A Bill That Could Ban TikTok Is Raising Privacy Concerns

April 9, 2023 Rebecca Klar, The Hill. , , , , ,
A bipartisan bill that aims to give the administration the power to ban apps linked to foreign adversaries, including TikTok, is raising privacy concerns across the political spectrum. The RESTRICT Act, led by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), is touted by supporters as a way for the administration to review and potentially ban services without solely targeting the controversial video app, the way other GOP-backed bills do. Although the broader scope may evade issues of targeting one company, digital rights groups, industry officials and privacy experts are sounding the alarm that the RESTRICT Act poses concerns that could limit Americans’ freedom online. 

Tiktok On Trial: The Latest Front In The US Tech War On China

April 5, 2023 Amanda Yee, Black Agenda Report. , , , ,
On March 23, CEO of TikTok Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee addressing concerns over the popular social media app’s data collection practices and parent company ByteDance’s alleged links to the Chinese government. Though TikTok is a subsidiary of ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, it operates as an independent entity. Chew has maintained  the company has never shared user data with the Chinese government, and would refuse if pressed to do so. Still, the Congressional hearings amounted to nothing more than racist political theater, a McCarthyite witch trial, in which members of Congress who demonstrated little understanding of how basic social media algorithms—or even home Wi–Fi networks —work attempted to spuriously link Chew, who was born, raised, and currently lives in Singapore, to the Communist Party of China .

Government Hasn’t Justified A Tiktok Ban

March 25, 2023 Adam Schwartz and David Greene, Electronic Frontier Foundation. , , , ,
So we are troubled by growing demands in the United States for restrictions on TikTok, a technology that many people have chosen to exchange information with others around the world. Before taking such a drastic step, the government must come forward with specific evidence showing, at the very least, a real problem and a narrowly tailored solution. So far, the government hasn’t done so. Nearly all social media platforms and other online businesses collect a lot of personal data from their users. TikTok raises special concerns, given the surveillance and censorship practices of its home country, China. Still, the best solution to these problems is not to single-out one business or country for a ban.

Tiktok Campaign Targets Controversial Alaska Willow Oil Project

March 11, 2023 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, Ecowatch. , , , , , ,
With 161.5 million views and counting on TikTok alone, the #StopWillow social media campaign has left no question of the groundswell of opposition to the proposed oil development project Willow on Alaska’s remote North Slope. Social media users have been using the hashtag to voice their resistance to President Joe Biden’s failure to keep his campaign pledges to reduce oil drilling. “With all of the progress that the U.S. government has made on climate change, it now feels like they’re turning their backs by allowing Willow to go through,” said climate activist Hazel Thayer, who posted TikTok videos using the #StopWillow hashtag, as The Associated Press reported.

The NATO To TikTok Pipeline

May 2, 2022 Alan MacLeod, Mintpress News. , , , ,
Culver City, California – As the bloody conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, so does the online propaganda war between Russia and the West. A prime example of this is the White House directly briefing influencers on popular social media app TikTok about the war and how to cover it. As the crisis spirals out of control, Americans have turned to TikTok to view real time videos and analysis of the invasion. With the app estimated to have around 70 million U.S. users, the White House is keenly aware of its impact. “We recognize this is a critically important avenue in the way the American public is finding out about the latest … so we wanted to make sure you had the latest information from an authoritative source,” President Joe Biden’s director of digital strategy, Rob Flaherty, told 30 top TikTok influencers.
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