Innocent video app a threat to security?
By Shanice David
Viral short-video app, Musical.ly, now known as Tik-Tok is popular amongst many American teens, but is seen as deadly to the U.S military. The app is a video sharing network service, and is used to film lip-synching, comedy skits and talent videos. The app draws attention of the youth with catchy songs, eye appealing transitions, and the chance to become famous. Ordinary children became famous “TikTokers,” overnight, such as Baby Ariel, Loren Gray and Charli D’Amelio, just to name a few. However, the app has been facing plenty of backlash for being a security threat.
TikTok is owned by a Beijing-based parent company, Bytedance. US lawmakers and Senators Marco Rubio, Chuck Schumer and Tom Cotton share similar concerns that TikTok can be used to collect the data of U.S. citizens. It can pose a threat to national security because the United States would be forced to cooperate in Chinese intelligence gathering. Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) are conducting investigations on whether or not it was legal for Bytedance to purchase Musical.ly in 2017. Furthermore, there have been reports of propaganda being posted by the Islamic State on the app. The U.S. army has gone as far as banning the app from all government-owned phones. Countries like India pulled Tik-Tok from app stores for a short period of time, because the country’s government argued that it made children vulnerable to inappropriate content. However, the ban was lifted after two weeks after Bytedance appealed the court ruling.
As for Tik-Tok’s response to the backlash, they recently hired moderators to develop content moderation guidelines, one that won’t be accused of censorship. They have also insisted that user’s data isn’t stored in the U.S. or Singapore, China. Tik-Tok made a statement on November 5, 2019, stating, “TikTok’s data centers are located entirely outside of China. Further, we have a dedicated technical team focused on adhering to robust cybersecurity policies, and data privacy and security practices.” They have also taken further steps to ban political advertising. Steps have been taken to build better moderation teams that are experts in the area of Trust & Safety based in the U.S.
However, it doesn’t look like this security breach will be slowing Tik-Tokers down anytime soon. Out of the 20 teenagers of Timber Creek High surveyed, only a meager 5 people said that they would stop using Tik-Tok if it was a threat to security. Junior Macie Sousa stated, “I love Tik-Tok, I use it all the time. Ever since they added that new update, I keep scrolling and it takes up my time.” On the contrary, Sophomore Gisselle Carrillo expressed, “TikTok gets pretty annoying because as you keep scrolling, you keep hearing the same song over and over.” Considering the fact that Tik-Tok is taking extra precautions to ensure user safety, many students are turning a blind eye to the controversy. After all, it’s all about those views.
Just Dance. Seniors Lindsey Hendrix and Tristin Peace are Tiktokers themselves. Peace stated, “If it was a threat to national security, we would not continue to do it.” Photo by Shanice David