Why TikTok May Be Getting Safer To Use
The US government is working with Tiktok's Chinese-headquartered parent company in an attempt to regulate how the social media platform harvests and stores data from US citizens.
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If you are a parent of a pre-teen, you probably worry about TikTok. It’s up there with watching your kid deal with heartbreak, keeping their grades up, or why they are in a bad mood. This is the constant TikTok anxiety that hangs over you. Because bad things can happen there.
And you do what you can do to mitigate the risk. What’s more, the social media giant shows no sign of slowing down. It has harmed Facebook’s success metrics.
Although “bad things” can happen anywhere online–social media included–the worst thing you don’t think about is data privacy. There are other predatory things to be concerned about. So, as long as there’s nothing “inappropriate” on the app, parents can just relax, right? Wrong.
The good news is that the US government is currently working with TikTok’s parent company to ensure that the Chinese-owned social media platform adheres to US regulations pertaining to personal privacy. There is a special focus being put on controlling the data the company harvests and stores from minors.
The Truth About The ‘Tok
TikTok is owned by a Chinese organization, ByteDance headquartered in Beijing, China. There are offices within the United States, but the company does not follow all of the United States’ federal regulations when it comes to data. According to Popular Science, both the former Trump and the current Biden administrations were, and are, concerned about how and why the company is gathering consumers’ data and info.
Next time you want to create a fun video, think about how your info is being used. Although seemingly innocent, TikTok is owned by a communist government. Historically, the United States does not play well with them.
In addition, Former President Donald Trump was among the first to be critical of the platform. And, while his points about the social media platform may have been valid, he was extremely polarizing. Is it that by being Trump, Trump himself made us deaf to something that may have been an issue?
At the time, the open letter written to ByteDance’s CEO accusing them of being a national security threat just got lost in the sea of ridiculous things that were being said. More than likely, they had a point. And, the Biden administration is continuing with Trump’s TikTok concern.
As Tell Me Best recently reported, TikTok became the target of a recent Department of Homeland Security investigation as the Cybercrime Division named the social media platform a perfect place for child predators to find and groom the target.
Although TikTok has responded by saying that it will not tolerate sexual abuse content on its platform, the point remains that grooming oftentimes does not look like sexual abuse. In addition, TikTok has reported that the vast majority of its users are between the ages of 10 and 19.
So, Where Are We Now With TikTok?
The concerns about TikTok have not subsided. But, it seems that there is hope for those who have fallen in love with the “It’s Corn” kid and the hottest Lizzo routine. Newest reports say that the Biden administration’s plans have made traction with ByteDance.
Where Donald Trump’s fix was to sell all data to a third party, Biden has offered a three-prong approach, which includes storing data in the US through Oracle and additional digital oversight. This is more than likely just part of a larger plan to consolidate tech companies into more friendly (read not communist) lands.
If it will come to fruition, time will tell. You’ll see the news on your #FYP. (That’s a “For You Page” for those who don’t know). Until TikTok is gone, you better start learning these things.
