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Many conservative politicians, including Mr. Trump, appear to care more about appearing tough on China than preventing potential harm to TikTok users. There is plenty the U.S. government could do to ensure that TikTok acts responsibly without getting rid of it altogether.In the past year, as it has become one of the most popular apps in the world, TikTok has accumulated many of the same problems that other large-scale social networks have. The Trump campaign began running ads on Facebook that asked people to sign a petition calling for a ban on TikTok, ramping up President Donald Trump's pressure on the app's maker.
"Even if the app were banned, users can install apps on Android devices without downloading them from the Google Play Store, said Carolina Milanesi, a tech analyst at Creative Strategies. In addition to all the harmless Gen Z fun, there are All of this might have been overlooked or forgiven, except for one fact. In March, TikTok But we still don’t know how TikTok’s algorithms are programmed, or why they’re showing which videos to which users. "Other countries do ban specific apps, and some have the ability to block them from working on the internet at the network level. In 2019 blog post, "TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the US," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement addressing Pompeo's comments. But it could potentially lobby Congress to enact legislation that targets TikTok, said Kurt Opsahl, general counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group.Currently, Opsahl said, "there is no law that would authorize the federal government to ban ordinary Americans from using an app. We should know these things — not just about TikTok, but about American social media apps, too.After all, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat are playing a huge role in the lives of millions of Americans, and for years, they have operated with a degree of secrecy that few other companies of their importance have been allowed.
And Silicon Valley tech companies like Facebook, whose executives I’ll be honest: I don’t buy the argument that TikTok is an urgent threat to America’s national security.
President Donald Trump's campaign is presenting new ads on Facebook promoting a petition to ban Beijing-based TikTok, following the administration's increasing rhetoric to ban … The company has Jamie Favazza, a TikTok spokeswoman, said in a statement that in addition to the chief executive, the social network had an American as its chief information security officer and another as its head of safety.“We’ve tripled the number of employees in the U.S. since the start of 2020,” she said, “with plans to hire 10,000 more people over the next three years in places like Texas, New York and Florida.”There are legitimate concerns about a Chinese-owned company capturing the attention and data of millions of Americans — especially one like ByteDance, which Ms. Favazza said TikTok stored American user data in Virginia and Singapore. English
In an On July 12, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business that TikTok's access to US users' data may well be worth investigating. "It sets a precedent for the government to ban other apps or even for other global apps to be inaccessible to the US market. Even if they all complied with the order, there's no guarantee that TikTok wouldn't find a way to get around those blocking efforts, Filasto said.Any scenario would create opportunities for legal challenges. The president is reportedly considering banning the app outright or forcing ByteDance, the owner, to sell it.TikTok, popular among teens, lets users add music and effects to short videos. Discuss: Trump targets TikTok: Everything you need to know On Friday, the president was Hours after those reports, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that "Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President's concerns," the company (The White House didn't respond to a request for comment; and TikTok and ByteDance said only that TikTok in the US isn't "planning on going anywhere" and that TikTok is "committed to protecting our users' privacy and safety.
“If the concern is data security, the best way to secure the data is to put TikTok under the microscope, and put in place really robust and enforceable rules about how they’re using and retaining data.”Forcing TikTok to operate in a radically transparent way would go a long way toward assuaging Americans’ fears.